Catalytic Event
by Hannah554
Summary: AU, a car crash brings together the lives of very different people and they will have to work together to save each other but for one of them the crash is just the beginning. Sparky Spanky
1. Chapter 1

This is my first ever attempt at an AU and only my second Atlantis story but i recently became obssessed with Atlantis AUs so it was inevitable that i would end up writing one. Constructive critisism is very welcome so please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Atlantis or any of it's charcters.

Catalytic Event

Chapter 1

The Limo sped down the highway as fast as it could in an attempt to escape the black SUV following them. Dr Elizabeth Weir kept her head down as her personal body guard John Sheppard attempted to look through the back window at the pursuing vehicle. He knew without having to see inside the vehicle who the driver was. Several shots hit the window from whatever weapon was being fired at them but thankfully the glass was bullet proof.

"All this over a damn treaty," John exclaimed as he ducked back down next to his charge. She looked at him momentarily her green eyes showing the fear she was trying to hide. The limo jerked to the left as the driver narrowly missed hitting one of the other cars on the road. His expert driving being the only thing that had kept them alive and out of the clutches of the man chasing them. "We have got to end this before someone get's hurt."

"Gee, you think," Elizabeth stated sarcastically frustration beginning to replace the fear at their unending predicament and John briefly glared at her.

He risked another look out of the window in time to see the car crash into the back of them throwing John backward in the limo. He'd called for help several minutes ago unfortunately it would probably be several more minutes before any kind of help arrived. In the mean time, he, Elizabeth, the driver and all of the other people on the road were in danger and their pursuer seemed to be getting more and more reckless as the chase continued.

He heard the sound of an engine picking up speed but the vibrations of the Limo told him it wasn't them. He pulled himself back up off the floor and looked out of the window again.

The SUV had indeed been picking up speed as it came up along side the Limo and the window came down to reveal the face he had come to loathe in recent weeks. The man pulled out his gun and fired at the limo continuously. He had to be insane John thought to himself, trying to start a shoot out at these speeds was just suicidal.

Bullets continued to rain down on the Limo but had very little effect on it. The man took his eyes off the road and leaned over slightly in his seat to aim at the tires. It was the most stupid thing John had ever seen anyone do and he had seen people do a lot of stupid things in his line of work. The result was their pursuer losing control of his vehicle and causing his car to swerve wildly as he attempted to regain control of it.

The driver of the limo began to slow down in an attempt to get out of the way of uncontrolled vehicle. Despite his best efforts there just wasn't enough time, the SUV crashed into the limo with incredible force. John immediately grabbed hold of Elizabeth and used his own body to protect hers from the crash. He felt a sharp, searing pain in the back of his head before everything went dark and he lost consciousness.

The limo rolled over several times before it finally came to a stop and the SUV tipped onto its side stopping only a few meters from the limo. The young brunette in the next car attempted to avoid the crash but she was too close, the left side of her red Plymouth was forced off the ground by the SUV causing it to roll more than the limo had and finally come to a rest on its side in between the limo and the SUV.

Another car joined them flying over the SUV and slamming into the young woman's car. A man with brown hair in a white Corsa also attempted to avoid the crash but only ended up slamming into the SUV as a blue corolla carrying a young blonde woman spun around as she tried to swerve away from the destruction but was no more able to escape than the other's had.

Two more cars hit the pile up and as the motor cycle approached, the driver however realized in time, mere seconds before his vehicle also fell victim to the pile up that he would not be able to stop or avoid the crash and he jumped from the bike, hitting the pavement with a thud that left him unconscious.

The remaining vehicles on the road had been far enough away from the crash for their owners to be able to stop before they added their own cars to it. Several of them were on their phones calling fro help whilst others stared in shock at the sight of devastation before them. A few of them people ran over to try and help as the sound of sirens approached.

Amidst the chaos and burning one man crawled from his SUV injured severely and in no shape to continue with his task. He ran away unnoticed taking with him a vow to complete his task and leaving the destruction behind him.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Steph7085** – I'm glad you liked the beginning and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione** – Most of the identities are revealed in this chapter and I'm glad you liked the first chapter, thanks for the review.

**Whirlwind-2005** – I'm glad you liked the start and I hope you enjoy this chapter too, most of the identities are revealed in this chapter.

**Fyd818** – Wow thank you, I'm glad you liked the description of the pile up and the fact that John is Elizabeth's body guard. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the first and thanks for the review.

**Jess Sheppard-SGA** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 2

Ronon Dex woke with his head pounding and his entire body aching. He could hear sirens and panicked voices approaching them as he struggled to focus through the fog that had settled in his mind. It took a few moments before the events that had led to him losing consciousness came back to him.

Remembering the crash he began to push himself up off the road mentally checking himself for injuries as he did so. Finding none serious enough to keep him on the floor he forced himself up on to his knees and took in the sight of the crash before him.

Most of the cars were completely wrecked, some were on their side and others were upside down. He noticed his motorcycle or rather what remained of it amongst the rest of the crash site and winced inwardly. It was a total loss, if he hadn't been able to jump from it in time he'd be dead, very, very dead.

He stood up as a young man and woman ran toward him looking concerned

"I'm fine," he told them before they could ask. He could see several people amongst the cars as he walked toward them, people who obviously hadn't been in the crash itself.

He picked up his pace intent on helping in any way he could and came to a stop next to the upside down limo. He quickly checked they weren't leaking any gas and was relieved to find they weren't. However he did find bullet marks in the back and side of the vehicle leading him to conclude they were somehow involved in the reason for the crash.

He knelt down next to the broken window and looked into the vehicle. The bodies of a young man and woman were tangled together at the other side but he couldn't tell if they were unconscious or dead.

"Hey!" he shouted in the hope he could rouse them but got no response from either of them. The emergency services finally arrived and began running around the scene, pushing back the civilians that had been helping to a safe distance and helping the people trapped in their vehicles.

"Excuse me sir, we're going to have to ask you to move away from the vehicles and get yourself to an ambulance," a cop told him as he approached.

"It's okay," Ronon explained. "I'm a fire man."

"Still you should probably get yourself checked out by the paramedics."

"I'm fine, just a few scratches, I managed to get of my motor cycle before it crashed," Ronon stated with a tone that said 'I am going to be helping these people so shut up and deal with it'.

"Okay," the officer said apparently having got the hidden message. "Why don't you go take look at the Plymoth?" the officer suggested noticing that the firemen hadn't quite gotten to it yet since most of them were still arriving.

Ronon wordlessly made his way over to the red Plymoth which had been turned on its side and seemed to have been one of the worst damaged cars in the crash. Another car had slammed into the back of it and had provided another car the ability to drive over it and come to a stop on top of the Plymoth.

All the doors were blocked, either by the ground or another car, the only way he could get to it was through the front window. He knelt down where the drivers seat was thankfully it was on the side nearest the floor. The young woman was hanging with her light brown hair falling over her face and he couldn't see the extent of her injuries from where he was.

"Ronon you okay?" a familiar male voice shouted to him and he turned to see Marcus Lorne running toward him wearing the usual fireman's outfit.

"Fine, just a few scratches," he told him.

"Whoa," Lorne stated as he looked at the car in front of him.

"There's a woman inside but I can't tell how bad her injuries are or even if she's alive," Ronon informed him and Marcus knelt down beside him and looked into the car.

"Looks like she's pinned," Marcus stated. "The steering wheel is pushing down on her legs; we need to get her out fast."

"Go get help," Ronon told him and Marcus nodded and ran off. Ronon looked at the woman in the car, the steering wheel was pressing deeply into her legs, possibly on the verge of cutting off her circulation. He looked up to where her hair was covering her head and that's when he noticed the red stain forming her hair. She must have hit her head in the crash and considering the stain hadn't been big enough for him to notice moments ago he knew it must be bleeding badly.

Marcus was right they did have to get her out fast, her life depended on it. He wouldn't let her die after all this was why he had become a fireman in the first place.

**Flashback**

_Ronon walked into the fire house for his first day on the job, he had wanted to be a fireman since childhood and now he had done it. He walked past the red fire engines and toward the two firemen that were stood nearby talking._

"_Looking for the Captain," he stated as the two men turned to look at him._

"_You must be the probi,e" one of them stated as he took in Ronon's unlikely appearance. The dreadlocks were not a common hairstyle for firemen._

"_Office is that way," the other man said pointing to a door to his left; Ronon nodded his thanks and went through the door. The fire house was exactly as he had expected it to be and he could smell food. As he passed the kitchen he saw the source of it as two men were cooking something but Ronon doubted he would get to eat it, he was only a probationary fireman after all. Once he'd met the captain he would probably be sent in there to help though with his cooking skills they'd probably all end up with food poisoning._

_Having asked directions to the Captain's office a few more times Ronon found himself standing outside the door. He knocked twice before he received an answer and walked in to find Captain Caldwell sitting behind his desk. _

"_Captain Caldwell," he greeted, "Ronon Dex" _

"_You're five minutes late," Caldwell said sternly._

"_I'll make it up at the end of my shift," Ronon told him unfazed by the Captain's unfriendliness._

"_See that you do, I believe the other probies are currently making dinner so why don't you go join them."_

"_If you have a death wish it will be my pleasure," Ronon stated as he left the office._

**End Flashback**

Marcus arrived back at the car with the two other firemen ready to get the young woman out of the car. "She has a head injury," Ronon informed them, "We're going to need a paramedic here."

- - -

Carson Beckett stepped out of the ambulance and took in the devastation before him, the reports he had received through the radio had not done a good job of describing just how bad this was. He had never seen anything like it in all his years as a paramedic.

He walked round to the back of the ambulance and grabbed his medial kit before heading into the crash site. He picked his target, a white Corsa and made his way over to it, fortunately it wasn't too badly damaged and the man inside seemed relatively uninjured though he was unconscious.

Carson reached into the car and checked the man's neck to find a strong, steady pulse, his small bump to the head having rendered him unconscious though not for long as he drew his hand back out of the car the man groaned. A moment later his eyes opened and he lifted his hand to his head as he tried to focus.

"It's alright lad," Carson told him. "You were in a car accident but you're fine, I'm a paramedic and I'm going to take care of you, can you tell me your name?"

"What?" the man said still slightly confused. "Rodney McKay."

"Alright Rodney, can you tell me where the pain is?"

"Can I tell you where the pain is," Rodney stated sarcastically apparently having become more alert. "I was in a car accident the pain is everywhere," he exclaimed.

"Aye, do you have allergies to medication?"

"Not that I know of," Rodney told him his voice sounding more annoyed and Carson sighed, he was going to be one of those difficult patients.

**Flashback**

Carson jumped out of the ambulance and ran into the apartment with his partner right behind him. They found the apartment number they were looking for and entered it to find an old man sprawled on the floor phone still in his hand.

_Carson knelt down next to him to assess his injuries, the man was semi conscious and despite the fact that he had called 911 he seemed intent on preventing them from doing their job. Every time he or his partner tried to get near him he would bat their hands away._

"_Get away from me," the man instructed them._

"_Sir, we're paramedics, we're here to help you," his partner told him._

"_No, get away from me now," the man said pushing away his partners hands with more strength than he ought to possess in his current state. _

"_You have to let is help you," Carson stated but it didn't seem to make him much more accommodating. _

"_Just give me morphine," the man ordered as Carson reached for his stethoscope concerned that the man was on the verge of a heart attack._

"_Do you have any history of heart attacks sir?" his partner asked as Carson was once again pushed away. _

"_Just give me the damn morphine."_

_**End flashback**_

Carson gave Rodney some pain killers before he allowed the firemen access to the car to get Rodney out. He moved onto his next target a blue Corolla where two firemen were working on freeing a young blonde woman.

She was awake and seemed perfectly alert as he approached the vehicle managing to get to his patient with out getting in anyone's way.

"How are you doing?" Carson asked.

The woman smiled warmly at him giving the exact opposite greeting than he had received from his last patient. "I'm fine, my head kinda hurts and I think I might have broken a rib."

"Okay, let's take a look at that bump on you head first, can you tell me your name?" he asked her as he leaned in to examine the small head wound.

"Laura Cadman," she told him. "Do I get to know yours?"

Carson smiled. "Carson Beckett."

"Nice to meet you Carson."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Whirlwind-2005** – Thanks for the review and well done for figuring out who everyone was. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – I had to fan myself too writing Ronon and Lorne as fire fighters. I really enjoyed writing Rodney's little scene and there's some more of him in this chapter. I'm glad you liked the two flashbacks and there's another two in this chapter. Thanks for your review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Steph7085** – I love Carson and Laura too, they really should have made more of it on the show. Glad you enjoyed the last chapter and thanks for the review.

**Jasminesmommy** – All will be revealed but in the case of the SUV driver it'll be a while before you find out who it is. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jess Sheppard-SGA** – Thank you for the review, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 3

Rodney McKay was finally pulled free from his car and taken to the nearest ambulance where a paramedic was able to finish the job started earlier by the one that had seen him in the car.

He was definitely late for work now, he thought to himself, all that rushing about for nothing. In fact if he hadn't rushed he would have avoided this whole thing entirely and been less late for work. Out of all the days he could have ended up in this crash it had to be today the day he was suppose to convince a bunch of morons in suits that the science department of the university should not have its budget cut again. Now however it would be left to Radek Zalenka, they were doomed.

"Ow," Rodney exclaimed as he glared the paramedic tending to his head injury and the woman frowned at him. "I've just been in a deadly car accident do you think you could be a little more careful?"

"I barely touched you," she complained as she went back to the head injury and Rodney flinched away. "Do you think you could stay still?"

"I could have died today and you want me to stay still so you can cause me even more pain," Rodney stated incredulously.

"There are people in this crash far worse off than you so count your self lucky and shut up so I can treat this head wound," She ordered him her voice coated with annoyance. Rodney was about to open his mouth to say something else but the paramedic pinned him with an angry glare that made him shut his mouth instantly.

His thoughts went back to work as he figured that Zalenka was probably in the meeting now. Why he had decided to become a teacher he would never know. Having to deal with a bunch of kids who thought they knew everything everyday was just hard work and annoying, he hated people who thought they knew everything.

Flashback 

"_Alright you need to read up to chapter three by tomorrow and there will be a quiz so don't bother not doing it," Rodney informed his class as he dismissed them. They all moaned and complained as they left the room and several of them even glared at him. Rodney sighed to himself, this was university did they think it was going to be easy._

"_Sir," one of his students said as he approached Rodney's desk._

"_What is it?" Rodney asked._

"_I won't be here for class tomorrow I have a dentist appointment."_

"_You made a dentist appointment during class time?" Rodney asked._

"_They couldn't fit me in any other time."_

"_Fine read up to chapter four by Tuesday, you can make up the test when everyone else does the chapter four test."_

_The student looked dejected for a moment before pinning Rodney with an intense glare. "Sir, do you have to give us tests almost everyday?"_

"_It's the best way to keep track of your progress."_

"_That doesn't mean everyday, once a week would be just fine," the student informed him with a know it all tone in his voice. Before Rodney could respond the young man had scurried from the class room leaving an annoyed Rodney behind._

End Flashback 

Rodney flinched once again as the paramedic continued to tend to the head injury. She gave Rodney a 'stay still or I'll make this really painful' look and Rodney once again did as instructed.

- - -

Everything was hazy when Elizabeth regained consciousness, she could here voices shouting to her but couldn't pin point the source. Her memories came back to her slowly, the shoot out in the limo and the subsequent car crash that had probably caused her to lose consciousness.

As she began to regain her senses she registered a gentle thumping in her ear and the warm body next to hers. She forced her eyes to open and realised she was tangled up with John, remembering he had used his body to protect hers from the brunt of the crash.

She quickly untangled herself from him ignoring the shouts of the people outside the vehicle and tried to check him for injuries. She found a severe cut on the back of his head which had obviously been bleeding badly at one point however it wasn't anymore.

"Ma'am, can you here me?" a woman's voice questioned and Elizabeth finally took in what they were saying.

"Yes." Elizabeth answered.

"Can you tell me your names?"

"Elizabeth Weir and my body guard John Sheppard," she informed the woman.

"Can you tell me if you have any severe injuries?"

"I hit my head but other than that I'm fine, John has a serious head injury though," Elizabeth told her concern for John filling her voice.

"Okay we should have you both out of there in no time okay, so just sit tight."

"Not going anywhere," Elizabeth mumbled quietly to herself as she turned to look back at John.

Flashback 

_Another recess had been called on the negotiations for a peace treaty between America and several Middle Eastern countries. It was turning out to be harder than she had expected, though she had never for one second thought this was going to be easy._

_This however was just ridiculously difficult, there was so much animosity and between these countries it made it almost impossible to find any common ground. It was going to take months just get them to talk for a whole session without arguing about something one country had done to another fifty years ago._

"_Dr Weir," she heard someone call as she walked down the corridor towards the exit where she could get some fresh air. She turned around to see General O'Neill walking toward her with another young man at his side._

_O'Neill was the reason she had agreed to take on this job in the first place, he was probably the only man who could have convinced her she should do it._

"_Hello General," she greeted with a smile on her face._

"_I heard about the latest death threat you got this morning," he stated._

"_Just another in a long string I've got over this treaty," she said._

"_Well we have a feeling some of these are more serious than others, so we want to ensure your safety," O'Neill explained. "This is John Sheppard, he's a personal body guard, one of the best, he's going to be protecting you."_

"_Jack…" Elizabeth began to protest._

"_Don't try to argue Elizabeth; I'm not letting this one go."_

"_Fine," she relented realising she definitely wasn't going to win this one._

"_Great," Jack exclaimed, "I'll leave you two to get to know each other."_

_Elizabeth watched as Jack walked away and then turned to Sheppard. "Well it's nice to meet you Mr Sheppard," Elizabeth said holding her hand out to him._

"_Likewise Dr Weir and call me John, I hate being called Mr Sheppard," he told her with a smile that Elizabeth couldn't help but find adorable and she returned his smile her green eyes instantly connecting with his and holding for a long moment. "Besides we'll be spending a lot of time together over the next few months."_

"_Then you should call me Elizabeth and don't abbreviate my nam,e" she told him her smile widening and his becoming somewhat mischievous._

"_Whatever you say ma'am."_

End Flashback 

"Hang in their John," Elizabeth whispered to him quietly.

- - -

Ronon's head span around when he caught a small movement in the corner of his eye. The young woman in the car was clearly waking up which was probably a good sign though it meant she would be in a great amount of pain until they could get to her.

He leant in closer to the front window. "Hello can you hear me?" he shouted causing everyone around him to stop what they were doing. The woman's head moved and her hand came up slowly to brush her hair out of her face revealing a large gash across the left side of her forehead and a bloodied nose.

"What happened?" she whispered so quietly Ronon had to strain to hear it through the glass.

"You were in a car accident but don't worry we'll have you out of their soon," he told her reassuringly.

"No rush, take your time," the woman said far more calmly than he had expected given the circumstances. She still hadn't opened her eyes or looked up which had Ronon concerned she was going to lose consciousness again and with head injury like the one he was positive she had sustained that would be a very bad thing.

"What's your name?" he asked her in an attempt to get her talking and keep her awake.

She finally lifted her head to look at him and opened her deep brown eyes "Teyla, Teyla Emmagan."

"Well Teyla, I'm Ronon Dex," he stated "You have a head injury so we need to keep you awake okay?"

Teyla nodded slowly. "So what do you want to talk about in an effort to keep me awake?"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Steph7085 – **I enjoyed writing Liz's flashback and Rodney's bit and I'm glad you enjoyed them.

**Fyd818 – **I'm glad Rodney isn't one of my teachers too, though I've had my fair share of teachers who are worse than him. I'm glad you liked Elizabeth's flashback it was my favourite part of the last chapter to write. I wouldn't sleep for a month if Ronon was trying to keep me awake though a head injury might change that lol. Teyla's flashback is in this chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

**BelovedOne – **Glad I caught your attention with this story and thanks for the review I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jess Sheppard-SGA – **Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry it took so long but I hope it was worth the wait.

**KariHermione – **I'm glad you like the story and I thought the flashbacks were a good way to give the characters backgrounds, there's two more in this chapter so I hope you like it.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Thanks for you review, I'm happy to know you like this story and the flashbacks, Elizabeth's flashback was my favourite part of the last chapter to write.

- - -

Chapter 4

Rodney felt kind of bad after the paramedic had lectured him so after she had finished he headed back into the crash site to see what he could do to help; though he'd had to be rather sneaky about it since he'd been turned around three times.

"So you're out of the car then?" he heard a vaguely familiar Scottish accent ask him and he turned to see the paramedic who had been treating him in the car. He was currently stood next to a corolla that contained a young woman. "I don't think you're supposed to be wondering around here."

"I felt bad so I decided to see what I can do to help," Rodney explained honestly and Carson regarded him warily for a moment before gesturing for him to go over. One side of the car was blocked by another car and the other which unfortunately was the driver's side had been damaged by what was probably the impact of another car.

"The doors are jammed so we can't get her out of the car yet but I am going to have to fix her dislocated shoulder before it causes her any more pain," Carson explained and Rodney winced inwardly he didn't want to now how painful that was going to be, the paramedic was right there really were people worse off than him in this crash and he had a feeling the young woman in front of him had gotten of relatively easy too.

"What do you need me to do?" Rodney asked.

"Distract her for me."

Rodney nodded his head albeit reluctantly and knelt down near the window keeping out of Carson's way. "Hi," he greeted having no clue what to say and the woman smiled at him.

"Hi, I'm Laura," she introduced with a warm smile on her face that told him she understood his predicament.

"I'm Rodney," he paused for a moment trying to figure out what to say next. "What do you do?"

"I'm a reporter, you?"

"Science professor," Rodney managed to say before Laura's cry of pain cut him off as Carson popped her shoulder back into place.

- - -

Teyla was feeling her lucidity slip away slowly despite Ronon's attempts to keep her awake. Her head was pounding with a sharp pain, her entire body ached from being stuck in its current position and every scratch, cut and wound felt like it was burning; it all just wanted to make her scream in a combination of pain and frustration. She felt her eyes closing and darkness beginning to settle despite her efforts to keep them open.

"Hey," Ronon snapped forcing her attention back onto him and waking her up in the process.

"I'm a personal trainer," she told him answering the question she vaguely remembered him asking before she had started to slip away.

"That sounds like fun," he replied his voice louder now so that it was able to penetrate the fog that was blanketing her mind.

"Depends on who you're training" she answered with a small smile which Ronon returned.

_Flashback_

_Teyla hit the punching back again and the resounding thwack continued to attract the attention of her fellow class mates. She didn't stop though; she ignored the stares of her class mates like she did every lesson and continued to take out all of her problems on the helpless punching bag._

_Their teacher walked into the room and Teyla stopped her movements and turned to her. Her teacher was a young woman about the same age as Teyla and she had learnt a lot from her over the last few weeks. Somehow the young woman had known why Teyla was there, what had driven her to take the self defence class._

_Teyla had been surprised at first but then she had found out that she knew because she had been through the same thing. It had helped her to be able to talk about it with someone who really understood. The class were told to split into pairs and to spar and Teyla partnered herself with one of the men nearby. _

_Women were suppose to partner with other women but there was an odd number of men and women in the class and Teyla was now too good for most of the women in the class. She wasn't being big headed it was a simple fact and the reason that she had been told to partner with one of the guys instead._

_As they began to spar the guys head morphed into that of her ex boyfriend automatically. She tried to control the anger that the image caused her to feel so that she didn't end up seriously hurting her partner. She hated that image with every fibre of her being though; she would never allow any man to do to her what he had done. Never again would she allow any man to hurt her._

_End Flashback_

"Miss Emmagan," Ronon said drawing her out of her memories and she realised she had once again been dozing off.

"Will you stop calling me that, I hate it," she half chastised for the third time. "Teyla will be fine."

"Okay Teyla, you need to stay with me, we'll get you out of there as fast as we can but in the meantime you need to stay awake," he told her adamantly and she could detect a slight note of desperation in his voice. She took in a deep breath and winced at the pain it caused her probably broken ribs before focusing her attention on the man in front of her.

Despite her current predicament and the fact that her vision was ever so slightly blurred she couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. He didn't look like a typical fire man but his dreadlocks brought out the brilliant green of his eyes that currently held a determined yet slightly fearful look. She used all her strength to focus on his eyes and he held her gaze making her heart flutter in what she hoped was an attraction to him and not a result of her injuries.

- - -

The man was infuriating she would much prefer to go back to talking to the nice paramedic. After her shoulder had been fixed they had got into a debate about whether teaching was a worthy profession, despite the fact that he was a teacher he seemed to hate teaching what he referred to as 'know it all snot nosed brats'. Carson had ended that argument but it had only taken another few minutes to for another one to break out.

"You seriously think that making a news report about this crash is at the forefront of my mind right now?" she asked angrily.

"Well you reporters are always looking for a great story and you just crashed right into one," he said his voice sounding as annoyed as hers.

"I'm sorry to ruin your stereotypical image but I hadn't even thought about a news report since I regained consciousness."

"Okay come on, you don't expect me to believe that you haven't even thought about it for a second."

"Alright that's quiet enough out of both of you," Carson stated breaking up their argument again. "And you," he said looking at Rodney. "Are suppose to be helping me not aggravating my patient"

"What she started it," he defended but Carson gave him a warning look that made him shut up and turn to Laura who smiled sweetly at him.

He was so irritating and he didn't even seem to be trying, how could he think that with all this devastation and death around her the first thing she'd be thinking of his making a report about it?

_Flashback_

_She was the fist to arrive on the scene having been nearby when it had happened, the train crash had been huge and she had no doubt the emergency services would be there soon to usher her away. She had a few minutes with complete access to the wreckage and her story._

_She switched on the small video camera she had in her hand and made her way into the wreckage stepping over the debris. It wasn't until she saw the first body that she began to realise she had made a mistake. By the fifth body she could no longer speak as the tears began to fall from her eyes at the sight before her; all these people who had just had their lives abruptly torn away. Happy and going about their business one moment and gone the next, men, women… and children. _

_That was when she heard a small moan to her left and turned to see a man laying on the ground a few feet from her. She ran over to him and put the camera down, he was still alive but barely and his eyes stared into hers with an intense fear and pain in them that would haunt her for the rest of her life. _

_He was bleeding from a wound in his chest and she tried to stop the flow of blood but there was nothing she could do. He died moments later and she was left to stare at his body with his blood on her. It was almost two minutes before the sirens pulled her attention back to reality and away from the dead man in front of her. She unconsciously picked up her camera and walked away from the site._

_She had reluctantly handed the tape over to her editor for him to do with as he saw fit. It wasn't until the next day when the editor called her into his office and made her watch the tape that she realised she had never turned it off. She had caught that man's death on tape. Her editor had filed the tape away and it had never been shown to anyone else since._

_End Flashback_

A bunch of fireman finally arrived to get her out and she sighed in relief, the whole incident brought back unpleasant memories she had spent years trying to forget.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Fyd818** – I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to update this, thanks for your review. The scene with Rodney and Laura was a lot of fun to write and I love Carson and Laura's relationship on the show, they never showed enough of that. I'm glad you liked Laura's flashback though I did make myself quite sad writing it. Also glad you like Teyla's career and the reasons behind it. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jasminesmommy** – The last flashback was very sad and John's and Elizabeth's fate is revealed in this chapter. Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I apologise for taking so long with it.

**Steph7085** – I'm glad you like the flashbacks, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione **– Thanks for your review and I apologise for taking so long with this chapter. The other ships in this story are RononTeyla and CarsonLaura. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 5

"John," he heard a familiar voice question as he began to regain consciousness but the pain and fog in his head prevented him from remembering exactly who it belonged to. He tried to move only to have his body protest angrily and he felt a hand gently push him back down.

"How do you feel?" the voice asked and it was then that his jumbled brain remembered who it was. He forced his eyes to open and they immediately met the startling green ones gazing at him with concern.

"Elizabeth," he managed to whisper before clearing his throat. "Are you okay?"

She smiled in amusement at him making him wonder for a moment what was funny about their current predicament. "I'm fine apart from a bump on the head, you protected me from the crash," she told him before the smile disappeared again. "It's you I'm worried about."

"Oh I'm just great," he stated and once again tried to sit up to prove his point but his body once again betrayed him.

"Take it easy," she ordered him once again laying a restraining hand on his chest to keep him from getting up. "They should have us out of here in a few minutes."

John's eyes once again met hers and they held that way for a long moment before a man's voice broke the moment.

"Can the two of you make it over here?" he asked from the upside down and broken doorway and Elizabeth looked at John knowing he couldn't go anywhere.

"Go," he told her and she reluctantly nodded her head and turned toward the door.

"I can but he can't," she said and the man held out his hand to her.

"We'll get him out; in the meantime let's get you to the paramedics."

Elizabeth once again looked back at John and he could tell she was still reluctant to leave him there. "I'm right behind you," he told her reassuringly and she turned and crawled over to the fireman who helped her out of the car.

He listened carefully as the man sent her away with one of the paramedics before joining John in the car.

"How are you doing sir?" the man asked.

"I'm wonderful, how are you?" John replied and the man smiled at him.

"I'm wonderful too sir," he answered as a young woman joined them and started checking John's injuries.

"Nothing seems to be broken but you're probably going to be aching all over for a while," she told him and John resisted the urge to say that he could have told her that. "You can move him if you're careful."

"The driver?" John asked his still jumbled brain remembering the other person in the car.

"I'm sorry sir," the paramedic told him and John winced inwardly "He didn't make it."

Five minutes later and John was out of the limo and being helped over to the nearest ambulance where Elizabeth was still having her head wound seen to. She looked up as he approached and smiled in relief when she saw him safely out of the crashed vehicle. He returned her smile as he was sat down next to her and the paramedic who had been in the car with him began tending to some of his injuries.

"That was a close one," Elizabeth whispered quietly without looking at him.

"The closest so far," he agreed.

- - -

Marcus Lorne listened carefully to the conversation between Ronon and Teyla. Ronon was becoming more desperate for things to say to keep her attention focused solely on him and thus keep the young woman awake. Another few minutes and they should have her free but in the meantime it seemed she was beginning to lose the battle with unconsciousness.

"Lorne?" Ronon questioned with a note of urgency in his voice.

"Almost there," he told his friend, several paramedics had gathered nearby ready to treat Teyla the moment they got her out of the car. He recognised one who had just arrived as Carson Beckett; he had run into Carson many times during his years as a fire fighter.

"Hey Teyla," Ronon shouted as the young woman began to slip away but Ronon's voice made her eyes snap open again. "We're almost there; I need you to stay with me a little longer okay?" 

Teyla nodded her head slightly but that was the only response she was able to give and Ronon continued to talk to her.

"Alright," Marcus yelled as they finally managed to get to her. Ronon and Carson gently helped the woman out of the car and onto the stretcher that was waiting for her. As soon as she was laid down the rest of the paramedics swarmed her and Ronon and Marcus were forced to watch as she was wheeled away.

Flashback 

Marcus made his way through the burning building and could feel the heat from the fire that surrounded him. They knew there was a kid stuck in here somewhere but they couldn't seem to find him. He finally managed to locate the bedroom and get through the doorway. The kid was still no where to be seen so he started to check the most obvious places.

Younger kids tended to hide when they got trapped in a blazing building and that unfortunately was the reason some of them didn't make it. He looked under the bed and didn't find him so he looked in the next most obvious place, the wardrobe.

_The kid was sitting there looking terrified but okay so Lorne quickly held his hand out to the kid who recoiled in fear. _

"_It's okay, I'm a fireman I'm going to get you out of here," he said through his oxygen mask which he knew was the main reason the boy was so scared, he couldn't be older than five. _

_The kid fearfully reached out to Lorne and he grabbed him and headed toward the door but part of the doorway collapsed blocking his way._

"_Lorne" he heard someone shout and it took him a moment to recognise the voice over the sounds of the fire burning around him._

"_Ronon, in here" he shouted._

"_Step back out of the way" he heard Ronon call and he did as instructed, the next thing he knew Ronon had cleared the doorway. However the door to the corridor was now blocked by the fire and they were forced to make their way over to the window at the other side of the room._

_Ronon forced the jammed window open and climbed out on the fire escape before reaching for the kid. Lorne handed him over and climbed out of the window himself and the two of them made their way down to the ground where the boy was taken by the paramedics and reunited with his parents._

_End Flashback_

They had saved that woman's life and Marcus felt a great sense of pride come from the thought, after all that was why he had become a fire fighter in the first place. He turned to Ronon who had an almost wistful look on his face mixed with something else.

"Oh no, I know that look," Marcus stated.

"What look?" Ronon questioned.

"That look I get almost every day," he stated knowing that Ronon would know exactly what he meant.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ronon stated.

Lorne smiled knowingly. "Yes you do," he said before walking away.

- - -

The paramedic finally finished doing everything she could do for him on the scene and John and Elizabeth were told to get in the ambulance so they could be taken to the hospital. He was helped to stand up and he watched as a bunch of paramedics rushed a young woman into an ambulance whilst to fire fighters watched her go. He was helped into the ambulance behind Elizabeth and laid down on one of the stretchers much to his protest.

Elizabeth sat next to him and watched him her eyes still holding the concerned look she'd had in the car despite the fact that he was going to be fine. He'd come to care about her a lot over the last few months that he'd been protecting her and right now she looked scared.

He had seen her look scared many times but only once had he ever seen her look truly afraid like she did now and he hated seeing it. It made him want to wrap his arms around her and protect her from everything that could hurt her or make her afraid.

Flashback 

_They had barely made it down the corridor before all hell had broken loose. Several men started firing at them as they were leaving her hotel room and John was forced to push Elizabeth around the corner out of the line of fire. He and the small security contingent that head been provided for as a result of the death threats exchanged fire for several moments._

_They realised quickly they couldn't hold their own here; there wasn't enough cover and it put too many people in danger, John grabbed Elizabeth's arm and they made their way to the stairs and headed down. The security contingent were right behind them still exchanging fire with the enemy who were now above them as the made their way to the car park._

_Elizabeth handled the entire situation fine allowing John to guide her and keeping quiet. Then one of the three men in the security contingent took a bullet in the head and fell down the stairs his body coming to rest next to her. She took one look at the body and fear filled her face, fear for herself but mostly fear for the people trying to protect her. _

_It was almost as if she had realised for the first time that the people guarding her could die, would die and would do it willingly to protect her. She had completely frozen and John had to pull her along the rest of the way. They had finally made it into the car park and they took cover behind one of the cars whilst the remaining security members took cover behind another._

"_Elizabeth," John had said trying to make her snap out of it in the few moments they had before their pursuers burst into the car park. She didn't respond so he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. _

"_Elizabeth, I need you to focus okay?" he said his eyes locked onto hers and trying to will the determination from his own body into hers. She blinked several times and then nodded her head taking a deep breath to steady herself and ready to do whatever she had to._

_The shooters came into the car park and John and the security contingent were able to take out four of them as they piled through the door way. That left only five more to deal with, John gestured for Elizabeth to move so that she was kneeling behind the tire of the car and John moved behind the other._

_He then knelt down and aimed at the legs of one of the men and fired one shot making him fall to the ground. Another man knelt down to get a shot at John and he almost had to laugh at the rookie mistake as he put a bullet in his head. He heard several shots off to his side and saw the security team take out another two of the men. _

_That just left one still running around and one injured, he gestured to the security team to get the injured guy before he recovered enough to start firing again. He then caught sight of a movement on his left and moved quickly grabbing Elizabeth's arms and pushing her around the car just as the place she had been sitting in came under fire. _

_He looked up over the hood of the car to see the shooter duck down behind another car. He waited door several moments before the man risked peeking his head out to locate his target and John once again took him out with one shot to the head. A glance to his right told him the injured man had been apprehended at the immediate threat was over. _

_End Flashback_

John reached out his hand to her and she took it almost unconsciously, he squeezed her hand gently trying to reassure her and the fear faded slightly from her face. He just wished he could make all her problems go away.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Sophie Fatale –** I'm glad you like the Sparkyness and thanks for the review; I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione –** Thank you for review, I had to show how close John and Elizabeth are already cos it's going to be important in the next few chapters. I hope you enjoy this one.

**Steph7085** – Glad you liked John's flashback, I love writing Sparky! I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the review.

**Fyd818** – I loved writing Lorne's flashback, him and Ronon as fire fighters appeals to me, I was tempted to make John one as well (sighs dreamily). I loved writing John's flashback too, but then I love writing Sparky so go figure lol. Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 6

"They're letting me go home," Elizabeth informed John as he laid in his hospital bed looking anything but pleased. He was going to be stuck here for another couple of days and she felt kind of bad for him. He really wasn't the kind of person who could just sit around and do nothing for a few hours never mind a few days.

"Lucky you," he stated bitterly and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.

"Not quite as lucky as you think," she stated lowering her voice and gesturing over to the well built man standing at the door who looked like he could crush a car with his bare hands. "Mouthy over there never says anything, ever. Other than 'Hello I'm Carl and I'll be protecting you whilst Mr Sheppard is in the hospital' he hasn't said a word."

John grinned at her for her somewhat mocking summary of her new bodyguard. "I think I'm a bad influence on you," he said remembering the polite young diplomat who never had a bad word to say about anyone.

Elizabeth smiled once again and rolled her eyes. "I'll be coming by to visit tomorrow, want me to bring you anything?"

"An escape plan," he stated his voice picking up a slightly bitter undertone once again.

"Sorry no can do but I'll bring you some non hospital food and a magazine or something," she told him humorously.

"Fine," he said resigning himself to his fate and locking eyes with her for a long moment before she looked up at her guard.

"Ready to go?" she asked with a smile on her face and the guard looked at her briefly before looking away again causing her to sigh. "See what I have to deal with, you hurry up and get out of here or he might end up having to defend himself from me."

John chuckled making a sharp pain shoot through his chest which he forced himself to ignore at least until Elizabeth was out of the room. She was already worried enough without him adding to it. She stood up slowly and made her way over to the door where 'Mouthy' was waiting for her. She stopped as she reached the doorway and turned back to him.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she told him and John knew she didn't want to leave him there.

"Tomorrow," he stated. "Be careful," he added and she nodded and left the room. He watched her go and sighed, he hated that he was stuck here not because it was boring and he hated hospitals but because whoever was trying to kill Elizabeth was still out there and as long as he was in here he couldn't protect her. He was sure the new guy was perfectly good at his job but that didn't make him feel any better, he needed to be the one protecting her it was the only way he could be sure she was safe.

- - -

Ronon walked back into the fire house even though he wasn't suppose to return for another day. He hadn't even been badly injured in the accident, just a few scratches but for some reason that seemed to equal time off work. Captain Caldwell saw him enter and immediately walked over to him.

"Dex, you're not supposed to be here until tomorrow," he stated.

"Yes sir, but I wasn't even injured yesterday and I'm gonna go crazy stuck at home with nothing to do," Ronon responded and watched as his Captain's expression changed from chastising to understanding and then back to its default setting of indifferent. He didn't say anything instead he just walked away and Ronon took that as permission to stay.

"Ronon you big idiot, what are you doing here?" he heard Marcus's voice shout before he could move from the spot where he had been standing talking to Caldwell.

"Working," Ronon stated as his friend moved toward him and came to stop in front of him.

"You were in a huge pile up yesterday or did you hit your head so hard that you for forgot."

"I barely hit my head and I was wearing my helmet."

"You said you lost consciousness," Marcus chastised though he knew it was pointless arguing with the man.

"For all of a minute, besides I'm going crazy at home."

"You were thinking about the brunette from the Plymouth," he stated knowingly and then smiled in triumph. "I knew you liked her."

"She was in a car crash," Ronon said. "I was trying to keep her conscious."

"I recognised the look on your face when they wheeled her away, you can't lie to me, how is she doing anyway?" he questioned genuinely wanting to know how the young woman was, she had been in pretty bad shape when they'd got her out of the car.

"How should I know?" Ronon asked rhetorically.

"You mean you haven't been to see her?" Marcus exclaimed in surprise.

"Why would I have?"

"Ronon, you spent hours getting to know this girl, you can't tell me you don't want to know if she's okay."

Ronon's silence gave Marcus all the answer he needed as he smiled victoriously. He was right though; Ronon thought to himself, he had spent most of the time since he had left the accident scene yesterday wondering how Teyla was doing. He didn't even know her though so there was no reason to go and see her; she was probably with her family right now and didn't need to be disturbed whilst she was recovering.

- - -

Despite her protest Laura was given a couple of days of work to recover from the accident. They had tried to give her the week but there was no way she was sitting around for that long. She needed something to do to take her mind off yesterday and the memories it brought up.

She had spent three years trying to forget what had happened at that train crash and had all but succeeded until yesterday. Sure she still had the occasional nightmare but nothing compared to what it had been like in the weeks following the crash. She had barely been able to function at one point and she had vowed never to let anything affect her so badly again.

The events yesterday though had brought back her memories full force. She had barely slept last night because every time she closed her eyes she'd see the pained and frightened eyes of the man she had seen die or the bodies that had littered the crash site. There was no way she was going down that road again, she wouldn't let this get to her like last time; she was stronger than that now.

She continued to stare at the TV in front of her not really watching what was happening. This was pathetic, a few days off work and she was going to go insane with boredom. There was no way she was going to last until she was allowed back to work. Maybe if she was really nice about it they'd let her come back to work early.

She wouldn't go back today though they'd never let her back if she did, she'd wait until tomorrow and then maybe she'd have a chance of them at least giving her something to do. She let out a deep breath as she picked up the remote and started flicking through the channels determined to find something to watch.

- - -

"Man, you are going to drive me insane before this day is through," Marcus stated as he watched his friend once again stare off into space.

"What?" Ronon asked as he finally came back to reality, why couldn't he get that woman out of his head.

"Look, why don't you just go and see her for five minutes to see how she's doing and then you can stop wondering and maybe concentrate for more than five minutes at a time," Marcus suggested and Ronon stared at him for a moment seeming to actually consider his idea for a moment before shaking his head.

"I'm not going to see her."

"Whatever," Marcus sighed. "As I was saying I saw this really cute blonde woman and …" he trailed off when he realised that Ronon was once again staring blankly at the wall and clearly not paying attention to the conversation.

"That's it!" Marcus exclaimed in frustration. "Let's go!"

"Go where?" Ronon asked following him toward the car.

"I'm driving you to that damn hospital before _you _drive me insane."

"I'm not…" Ronon began to protest but Marcus paused as he was getting in the car and pinned him with a look that said 'I don't care if you are twice my size if you don't get in this car I _will_ hurt you'. Ronon's shoulders slumped in defeat as he reluctantly got into the car.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Steph7085 **– Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the Ronon and Lorne friendship, I love writing it! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione** – It's not sad and being crazy is a good thing, sanity is overrated. Thanks for the review, glad you liked the end of the last chapter and I hope you like this one too.

**Fyd818** – Glad the last chapter made you laugh and that you like 'Mouthy's' name. The Ronon and Lorne scene was my favourite part of the last chapter to write. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 7

Ronon walked in the direction the nurse had sent him and it only took him a few moments to find Teyla's room. He stood outside the door wondering why exactly he had agreed to come in the first place. She was probably in there with her family and didn't need him interrupting. He turned around intent on leaving but saw Marcus standing at the end of the corridor watching him to make sure he went through with it.

He sighed resigning himself to his fate and opened the door in front of him. Instead of the family scene he had pictured he saw a room empty of everyone except Teyla herself who was lying on the bed. She turned to the door when she heard him enter and for a moment Ronon thought she didn't remember who he was but her small smile quickly allayed that fear.

"Ronon Dex," she greeted. "I have to say I didn't expect to see you again."

"I was in the area so I thought I'd drop by and see how you were doing," he lied and he was fairly certain she could see straight through it. She smiled again though and gestured to the seat next to her bed and he closed the door and sat down. He felt so awkward and didn't have a clue what to say, it was easy to talk to her in the car because he was doing it to save her life but now he was completely out of his comfort zone.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Other than my head feeling like its going to implode I'm fine, a few cracked ribs and some cuts and bruises but I'll live," she told him with another small smile. "Apparently my head wound was pretty serious, if you hadn't kept me awake in that car I probably wouldn't have woken up again, or so they tell me. It seems you saved my life so thank you; I was hoping I'd get the chance to tell you that."

"I was just doing my job," he informed her feeling more awkward than before.

"Still, thank you," she said before she let that subject drop. "How are you?" she asked him gesturing to cut on his own head.

"I'm fine, I jumped from my bike before it joined the pile up and I barely hit my head."

"That's good to know, so do you want to tell me why you were stood outside my room for five minutes before you actually came in?" she asked with a somewhat amused smile on her face.

"I figured you'd be with your family right now and I didn't want to interrupt, do you mind me asking why you're not?"

"My parents died when I was young, they're all the family I had," she told him a note of sadness in her voice as she remembered her parents.

"I'm sorry," he told her feeling bad for asking her and dredging up what were clearly not happy memories for her.

"That's okay, you weren't to know besides it was many years ago," she said and smiled her first genuine smile since the crash. The truth was she had been in this room alone since she was brought here and she was glad of the company. The nurses tended to come in and out to talk to her but it wasn't quite the same as having someone actually coming to talk to her and not have to run out to deal with other patients.

Ronon relaxed a little knowing that family members weren't going to walk in any moment and make him feel anymore out of place than he already did. "No boyfriend or anything?" he asked and the look on her face told him he had once again brought up some unpleasant memories.

"No," she answered after a moment.

"How long do they reckon you'll be in here for?" he asked deciding it would be safe to ask that question without upsetting her anymore.

"A few days at least, I'm hoping it won't be any longer than that I really hate hospitals, especially the food," she stated with a slightly bitter tone and a somewhat disgusted look on her face as she thought about the hospital food she was being forced to eat. Ronon smiled feeling more relaxed than he had been since before he had entered the room, he could definitely sympathise with her there.

- - -

Carson climbed aboard the parked bus and made his way down the aisle to where the young girl was sitting. They had received a 911 call from one of the passengers that a young girl had suddenly collapsed and gone into seizure. The bus driver had done what he could placing the girls head on his knee to prevent her from hitting it anymore than she already had. The seizure seemed to have stopped now and Carson knelt down in front of the girl as his partner stood behind him.

"Alright love can you tell me your name?" he asked her and she looked at him confused and scared which Carson took to be a no. "Do you remember where you are?" The girl continued to look at him for moment struggling to try and focus before she shook her head in answer to his question.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" the girl either couldn't tell or couldn't understand him Carson couldn't tell which but he knew she needed to be taken to the hospital. "Okay we're going to get you to the hospital now Love," he said and gestured for his partner to help him. They lifted her up from the floor and helped her off the bus. Carson sat in the back of the ambulance with her whilst his partner drove them to the hospital.

- - -

"Rodney should you really be back to work already?" Radek Zalenka asked as Rodney strolled into his office.

"I'm fine Radek."

"You were in a car accident less than 48 hours ago," Zelenka stated incredulously as Rodney picked up the files and books he needed for that day's lesson and headed back out of the office.

"I was only unconscious for about fifteen minutes and I have work to do," Rodney informed him. "Right, now what happened at the meeting yesterday?" he questioned dreading the answer.

"Not much to be perfectly honest, I informed them that you were late as of course we didn't know about the crash until an hour later. I spent that hour trying to tell them that we needed the money we're getting and cutting our budget again would be disastrous for the department. Then we learnt about the crash and they agreed to reschedule the meeting for a time when you were able to attend and we were able to devote our full attention to it."

"Really?" Rodney asked surprised that they were making this easier on them. "Well, good job," Rodney praised reluctantly and then walked into his class room. The students all went silent and watched as their teacher strode into the room sporting a huge cut on his fore head and a couple of scratches on his neck. Then the whispering and staring began and Rodney decided to put a stop to it so he could get on with the lesson.

"Yes, yes, I was in a car accident yesterday morning and yes it was the big pile up that you've all seen on the news. I was injured as you can all see but not badly enough to warrant me missing another day of work. Now that we have that sorted can we get started," Rodney's tone left no room for argument as the room fell silent once again and he began his lesson.

"Okay, now you should all have read up to chapter ten and there will be a test on that at the end of the week. Today we're going to start chapter eleven so you'll all get your text books out we'll begin."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**KariHermione** – I love writing Rodney's scene it's always so much fun and the girl in the bus, I think that's who you're referring to, is just a random girl who Carson saves whilst doing his job. It's not really all that important to the storyline. Thanks fro the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – Thanks for the review, yes you can just tell Carson cares, I loved him on the show and Rodney and Radek's scene was a lot of fun to write, I love their bickering. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 8

Laura had finally been allowed to come back to work though her editor had stuck her behind a desk. She might only be doing some research on someone else's story but at least she was doing something. It was far better than sitting at home with nothing to except sit and stare at the TV or even the wall.

Even still this wasn't a whole lot better, she was sure she was going to die of boredom if she didn't get something more entertaining to do. She needed to get back to her own job, to go out and find her own stories not sit here and help someone go through half a dozen files for their own story.

As if hearing her thoughts her editor came over. "Cadman, there's an apartment fire I want you to cover."

"Apartment fire?" she questioned, since when did she cover apartment fires, they usually only got a brief mention in the paper so were never covered by the bigger reporters including her.

"Yes an apartment fire," he stated and turned to leave and she stood up to protest but he must have sensed it coming because he turned back to her and cut her off before she had even opened her mouth. "Don't argue with me Laura, you shouldn't even be back at work yet and you definitely shouldn't be in the field but because I know you can't sit still for extended periods of time I'm willing to let you cover this since it's just a small easy story. Now go before I change my mind."

Laura decided she had better do as instructed and quickly grabbed her coat and bag and headed toward the door. It might not be a big story but at least she was going out to work on a story of her own.

- - -

The alarms throughout the firehouse went off and everyone was instantly alert and on the move. Ronon and Marcus quickly grabbed their gear and climbed aboard the fire engine that would transport them to the sight of the fire. Captain Caldwell was also aboard and yelling procedure at the two rookies over the sound of the siren

The fire engine sped through the streets dodging and weaving the other cars on the road and attracting the attention of the curious people they passed by. They finally came to a stop next to the burning apartment building and everyone but the rookies jumped out and set about their tasks with a speed born of experience.

Ronon and Marcus walked over to where a young foreign couple were frantically speaking in their native language and gesturing to the apartment. The fireman who was standing with them didn't seem to be able to make sense of what they were trying to say.

"What's going on?" Ronon asked gruffly.

"I can't understand a word they're saying," the young man said and Marcus looked at the couple and watched their actions trying to pick up on anything that might give them a clue as to what they were saying.

"Is someone still inside?" he finally asked when he followed their gestures to the window on the top floor and the two people nodded.

"Is that you're apartment?" Ronon asked them and they shook their heads.

"Young woman with girl," one of them finally said attempting as best they could to speak English and both Marcus and Ronon thanked them before running toward the apartment. They sidestepped on of their colleagues and watched as she helped an old man down the stairs to make sure she didn't need any help and then ran inside.

They made their way to the stairs and ran up to the fourth floor. Locating the apartment the young couple had been pointing to and quickly kicking the door in. The inside of the apartment was ablaze and the roaring of the fire almost drowned out the cries of a child.

"Hello," Marcus shouted but got no response and so they followed the cries to where a young woman was unconscious on the floor. Marcus knelt down next to her and was relieved to find she had a steady pulse. He lifted her over his shoulder as Ronon continued to follow the child's cries and found the little girl hiding in the corner of the room with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs and her face buried in her knees.

He knelt down in front of her though he knew the oxygen mask was going to frighten the little girl. "Hey," he said to get her attention and she recoiled in fear.

"It's okay," he reassured. "We're going to get you out of here."

The little girl nodded reluctantly and Ronon quickly picked her up and they made their way toward the window where the fire escape should be. They climbed out and began to make their way down to the ground when the part of it Ronon was standing on gave way and fell to the ground. Ronon's foot fell through but he used his free arm to grab the railing and prevent himself from falling. Marcus helped him back up and the two of them made it the ground without further incident.

"Carson," Marcus shouted when he spotted the paramedic nearby and the Scot quickly ran over to them with several other paramedics and two stretchers. Marcus laid the woman on one of them and Ronon put the girl on another and they were both wheeled away to safety. The two fire fighters then made their way over to their captain to find out what else they could do to help.

- - -

"Hey you," Elizabeth said as she entered the hospital room and John looked up at her and smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Never better, I should be out of here in a day or two," he told her his voice sounding hopeful and she couldn't help but hope along with him. She missed having him around and truth be told she didn't feel quite as safe without him protecting her. Not that Mouthy wasn't perfectly capable of doing his job even if he was less entertaining than watching paint dry, but with John she felt completely safe and Mouthy just didn't have the same affect on her.

"Well that's good," she said dropping a bag of chocolate and various other goodies she had brought him on to the bed. He looked in the bag for several moments with a serious expression on his face. "What are you looking for?"

"The escape plan I requested," he told her with a straight face and Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh.

"I told you I wasn't bringing you one of those, you're staying here until the doctor says you can go."

He looked slightly dejected for a moment before he smiled once again and started examining the goodies she had brought for him. Handing her one of his chocolates as he continued to search through the bag; she accepted it and waited patiently for him to finish.

"So how are things going?" he asked with a small gesture toward the door where her body guard was standing.

"Oh Mouthy has been great company, very conversational," she stated sarcastically and John smiled.

"At least you haven't killed him yet," he stated and Elizabeth knew he was glad she didn't like her new body guard all that much.

"Don't tempt me, he's not really that bad I suppose," she said trying not to smile at the expression on his face.

"Well don't go getting attached now," he told her. "I'll be out of here before long."

Elizabeth could no longer hold back her smile at his response. "Don't worry John, he's not going to replace you, you know you're the only body guard for me."

"I should think so too," he stated as he relaxed a little and sent a small glare in Mouthy's direction. Fortunately the man was staring straight ahead and didn't see the look John gave him. She sat back in the chair as one of the nurses came in to check on him and hand him his pain killers all the while eyeing him up. John however seemed to either ignore it or not notice at all and Elizabeth had to bite back a laugh as the woman who was actually very pretty left with a frustrated sigh.

"She's been doing that since I got here," John stated after she had left the room, apparently he had noticed.

"Giving you pain meds?" Elizabeth asked deciding to play dumb. "She's suppose to, that's her job."

John narrowed his eyes at her in a mock glare and Elizabeth had to laugh at him. "It's not funny," he told her which only made her laugh more before she finally regained her composure.

"Of course it's not," she placated wondering for a brief moment why he wasn't enjoying the attention he was getting. When she had met him a few months ago he had been such a ladies man and now all the attention seemed to be bothering him.

- - -

Carson watched as the ambulance carrying the little girl and her mother drove away and turned to see Ronon and Marcus walking over to him. He had seen them run into the building at least once since they had handed over the mother and daughter and they both looked rather tired now.

"How's the kid and her mother?" Marcus asked as he and Ronon came to a stop in front of him.

"They're both doing okay lad," he told them. "The kid suffering from smoke inhalation but nothing a night in the hospital won't take care of and her mother is a little worse off but she should be fine too."

"That's good."

"How is the young lady from the car doing?" he asked looking at Ronon who stood there wondering why everyone expected him to know.

"She's fine," he stated. "She should be out of the hospital in a few days."

"Dex, Lorne, let's go," they heard Caldwell yell and the fire fighters said their goodbyes and left. Carson was about to do the same when a familiar voice called after him.

"Carson?"

He turned around and saw the young blonde he had treated in the car crash. "Laura."

"I thought it was you," she told him giving him a warm smile.

"How are you lass?" he asked.

"I'm fine, mostly thanks to you," she told him and he ducked his head slightly.

"Just doing my job."

"Well I'm glad you did, I have to go my editor has me covering the fire as a way to ease me back into work after the accident but we should get together sometime," she stated handing him a business card. "Call me." She stated with a smile as she turned around to leave.

He watched her go and then stared at the card which had her cell phone number on it and smiled to himself. He then got into his ambulance pointedly ignoring the look his partner was giving him.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione** – I'm glad you like this story and I love writing John and Liz, they're just so adorable. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Gabumon** – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

**Steph7085** – I'm sorry you died from squeeing too much, thanks for the review, I'm glad you like my Sparky scene as well as the Laura/Carson scene. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – Thank you so much for your review (hugs) I'm glad you love this story so much. I love writing Sparky, the two of them are just so adorable and I had to add the comment about the escape plan into the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 9

It no longer surprised her when he came to visit, he came everyday at the same time and after the first four times she learnt to expect it, welcomed it. So that was why when he walked into the room again that day she simply smiled and waited for him to take his usual seat.

"Hey," Ronon greeted as he sat beside her bed looking far more comfortable with the action than he used to.

"Hi, rough day at work?" she asked taking in his exhausted appearance.

"You know, the usual, car accidents, burning buildings, cats stuck in trees," he explained with a hint of amusement in his voice making her smile the way he always did. She had been stuck in the hospital for almost a week and if it wasn't for Ronon's daily visits she was fairly sure she would have gone insane by now.

"As long as you had fun," she told him gaining a smile from him in return. She wondered what would happen when she finally did get out of the hospital, would she ever see him again. She was healing quickly according to the doctors and they expected her to be out in the next few days. Part of her couldn't wait to get out but a small part of her didn't want to leave in case she never saw him again.

"Here," he said awkwardly, handing her a small bag which she took eyeing him curiously.

"What's this?" she questioned as she looked in the bag to find chocolate and various other things and she smiled at the gesture. It was so small but it was the nicest thing he could have done. She had only known him for less than a week but she already knew he didn't like having any attention on him so she decided not to make a big deal out of it. "Thank you".

"Don't mention it, I figured you were probably sick of hospital food."

"I am," she admitted with a smile which seemed to alleviate some of his awkwardness.

- - -

Elizabeth hadn't been able to visit John yesterday because she'd had to attend a meeting so he had been looking forward to her visit that day more than usual. It amazed him how only 48 hours apart could make him miss her so much but then he had never left her side since he'd met her. He was with her all day everyday and at night he was only in the next room ready to jump into action should someone try to kill her at night, thankfully that had only happened once.

She entered the room and gave him one of her dazzling smiles which lit up the entire room and he automatically returned it. His eyes caught a man stood outside the room behind Mouthy who was watching Elizabeth as she walked into the room. John memorised his face just in case before Mouthy closed the door.

"How are you?" she asked as she sat down next to his bed.

"Bored out of my mind," he replied bitterly and then smiled. "I'll be out of here this afternoon, just waiting for the doctor's okay,"

"Well that's good to hear," she told him smiling once again.

"I'll be back to work in no time."

"That's even better to hear but don't rush."

"I won't," he lied and he knew she could see right through it, he needed to be back at her side protecting her from anyone that would cause her harm.

"Well I can't stop for long this morning because I have another meeting," she informed him. "But I'll come back as soon as it's finished, hopefully I should be back before you get released."

- - -

Carson walked into the small café with Laura beside him, he had called her the day after the fire with a little prompting from his partner and they had gone on their first date that night.

They were both working most of the day so had decided to grab lunch whilst they had the chance. As they walked into the café they heard a voice that was familiar to both of them and they looked over to see Rodney McKay sitting in one of the booths with another man. They were talking in rather annoyed voices and Carson was hoping the man wouldn't recognise him. No such luck.

"Carson Beckett?" he heard Rodney's voice ask and he turned and smiled. "Remember me, from the crash?"

How could he forget? Carson asked himself as he nodded his head slightly. "Yes I remember."

"And the woman from the Corolla, the reporter…" Rodney paused thoughtfully trying to remember the young woman's name. "Laura Cadman."

"That's right," Laura greeted.

A cough from Rodney's friend attracted everyone's attention. "Oh yes," Rodney said "This is my colleague, Radek Zelenka."

"Nice to meet you," Laura stated as she shook the man's hand with a friendly smile and Carson shook his hand too.

"Why don't you join us?" Rodney asked and Carson grimaced inwardly, he was hoping he wouldn't ask that. He looked at Laura whose smile and shrug of her shoulders told him she knew what he was thinking.

"Sure," Laura said as she sat down next to Zalenka and Carson sighed and took the only remaining seat next to Rodney.

- - -

"Okay, I have to go," Elizabeth stated as she stood up and picked up the bag and John's face fell.

"You've only been here an hour," he moaned and Elizabeth smiled at him.

"That doesn't change the fact that I have to leave," she said and reached for his hand which he grasped in his own. "I'll be back in a few hours, read your magazine and I'll be here by the time you finish."

"Fine," he told her grudgingly still holding her hand and her gaze. Her green eyes never failed to mesmerise him and he had to force himself to look away. That had happened far too many times in the last few days, if 'Mouthy' had noticed then he hadn't given any indication though that didn't really mean anything since he never did anything.

"I'll see you later," she said before she left the room and John watched her go followed by Mouthy. He was just about to look away and read his magazine as instructed when he saw the man from earlier walk past the room in the same direction as Elizabeth.

He knew it could very well be nothing, just some guy visiting a sick friend. Just because he was looking at her earlier didn't mean anything, she was a very attractive woman and a lot of men looked at her and the fact that he'd walked in the same direction didn't mean anything either, it could simply be a coincidence.

Something was telling him that wasn't the case though, that the man was following Elizabeth and he had every intention of hurting her, probably killing her. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen and even though he knew every nurse and doctor in the building was going to lecture him for it later he followed her.

Thankfully he had been allowed some mobility over the last two days; he had been able to get up and change into non hospital clothes and allowed to take very short walks away from his room. That meant that he was already dressed and could leave his room without anyone stopping him.

He very quickly put his shoes on as he walked out of the room and made his way down the corridor. He asked one of the nurses who fortunately hadn't seen him before which meant that she wouldn't recognise him. Apparently she had seen a young brunette walk past with a well built silent guy and she pointed down the corridor that led to the exit.

- - -

"I'll be right back," Ronon told Teyla as he walked out of the room to get some coffee only to almost run into a young man who Ronon recognised vaguely. However the man seemed to recognise him.

"You were at the crash, fire fighter I'm guessing."

"That's right, the guy in the limo," Ronon stated remembering the brief glimpse he had seen of the couple trapped in the upside down vehicle.

"I need your help."

Ronon looked confused for a moment but the pleading look in the man's eyes was enough to make him listen. "With what?"

"My name is John Sheppard, I'm a body guard, I think the woman I was guarding is in danger in this hospital right now but I don't know where she is."

The honesty and desperation in the man's voice convinced Ronon of the truth of his words and he nodded his head. "I'll help you find her."

"Thank you; she was last seen heading toward the exit."

"Let's go see if we can find her then."

"What's your name?" John asked realising he didn't even know what the man was called.

"Ronon Dex."

The two men made their way toward the nearest exit when John saw something that made him stop. His eyes had been taking in every detail around him so he didn't miss a small blood stain on the wall. There was a door next to it which led down into the utility room in the basement. John and Ronon exchanged a glance. "Of course, the basement, where else would they take her."

John opened the door and quickly scanned the immediate area, finding no one he walked down the stairs and could here Ronon's footsteps behind him. This was not the best idea in the world, these guys were probably armed and here they were, two unarmed guys wondering around amongst a bunch of pipes trying to find them.

They both remained silent as they made their way out of the first room into another. Ronon could hear quite voices ahead of them and motioned for Sheppard to stop and listen. He did as instructed but the voices were two quiet to make out so they moved closer. As they approached the door way the voices became clearer until they could here what was being said.

"Well Dr Weir it seems your new body guard isn't quite up to it," a man's voice said. "Isn't that right?" there was silence and John guessed he had addressed the question to 'Mouthy'. "Not the talkative type, are we?"

John and Ronon continued to approach the doorway being as quiet as possible but something was telling John they needed to move faster.

"How is the other guy doing anyway?" the man's voice asked and once again there was silence. "You know what happened to him is your fault Dr Weir."

That statement made John's stomach tie in knots, Elizabeth was a strong woman but he knew she held herself personally responsible for the fate of the people protecting her. He had seen the look of guilt on her face that day in the hotel when they had been attacked leaving her room and again after the crash. She would take that last statement to heart and that was the last thing he wanted, this was in no way her fault and he wouldn't allow anyone to make her think otherwise. He picked up his pace and noticed Ronon match it

"It was your fault Dr Weir that he ended up in the hospital and this is your fault too," John and Ronon were still approaching the doorway when they heard a gunshot. "Say goodbye Dr Weir." Followed by a second gunshot and then silence.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

I'm really sorry for the delay getting this chapter up but I hope it was worth the wait and I'll try to get the next one up as soon as possible.

**KariHermione** – I do feel kind of bad for the evil cliff hanger I left you with but here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it and thanks fort he review.

**Steph7085 **– (runs for cover) I do feel kind of bad about the evil cliff hanger, thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – I'm sorry I made you hyperventilate and I do feel kind of bad for the evil cliff hanger I left you with. Glad you liked the scene with Carson, Rodney, Laura and Radek. The scene with Ronon and Teyla was my favourite from the last chapter and I had to have him bring her some stuff, I couldn't help myself. Glad it had you grinning and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Ancientmaverick** – I'm am kind of sorry for the evil cliff hanger but I do that quite a lot in my fics. Glad you like this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jasminesmommy** – I am a little sorry for the evil cliff hanger and here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

**Suzotchka1** – Thanks for the review and I do feel a little bad about the evil cliff hanger. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Gabumon **– Thanks for the review, glad you liked Rodney's bit in this last chapter and I hope you like this one to.

**Alexis** – I know that was kind of mean of me to leave you with that cliff hanger, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**J-s-j-e **– That was kind of an evil cliff hanger, thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Alo** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 10

John's heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life. There was still no sound coming from the room up ahead and the longer the silence continued the more he began to panic. He shook all thoughts out of his mind and rounded the corner in time to see 'Mouthy's' body hit the floor. His eyes searched the room falling almost immediately on Elizabeth who was being held in place by a man who made 'Mouthy' look small. He was holding a gun to her neck but all her attention was focused on her body guard. Her face was ashen and he could see the shock beginning to settle over her features.

There were three other men in the room, two on either side of Mouthy and another stood separately from everyone. "There should be an exit that way," the fourth man who was obviously the ring leader stated as he gestured toward where John and Ronon were hiding in the shadows of the doorway. "Go and fetch the car, we need to take the bodies with us."

The two men next to Mouthy nodded their heads and moved to do as they had been instructed. John and Ronon backed up and John sent him a look that Ronon seemed to have no problem understanding. They stood on opposite sides of the door pressed against the wall as the two men walked out of the room. They crept up behind them and Ronon took one of them out with a single hit whilst John grabbed a broken piece of pipe and knocked the other one out.

They took the guns from the unconscious men and moved back toward the door. John gestured for Ronon to take out the leader as he took out the guy holding Elizabeth and he nodded his head in understanding. John looked back into the room and saw the ring leader approaching Elizabeth with his weapon raised.

"This is the end Dr Weir," he stated "Any last words?"

Any last words Elizabeth may have had were cut off by John entering the room and firing a single shot at the man who still had hold of her. He hit him in the shoulders knocking him back and causing him to hit head on the wall as he fell. Ronon was only a second behind John and had his gun pointed at the ringleader ordering him to drop his weapon. He reluctantly did as he was told and John turned his gun on him as well to ensure he didn't try anything.

"Kick it away," John instructed and the man glared at him as he did so. Ronon then took a few steps forward and hit the man with the butt of his weapon rendering him unconscious. With all four men out cold John turned to Elizabeth who hadn't moved from where she'd been held. He tucked the gun into the back of his trousers and approached her slowly placing his hands on her arms.

"Elizabeth," he said softly. She looked at him and he locked eyes with her pouring all the reassurance he could find into his gaze. After a few seconds she finally responded and leant her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, needing reassurance as much as she did; reassurance that she was okay.

Ronon meanwhile had next down next to 'Mouthy' and turned his body over, the cause of death was immediately obvious, two bullet wounds to the chest.

Elizabeth pulled back from John and took a deep breath. "I'll go call the police," she told him and he looked at her warily for a moment. "You can't leave him down here alone with all of them."

"Alright," he conceded. "I'll walk you to the stairs in case there's anymore of them," he looked to Ronon who nodded his head in agreement. John kept one hand on the small of Elizabeth's back, needing to maintain some level of contact as he led her through the pipes to the stairs. His eyes constantly scanned the room for any sign of a threat as he carried the gun in his free hand.

He reached the bottom of the stairs as Elizabeth stopped and turned to him. "I'll be alright from here."

John nodded and watched her climb the stairs and disappeared through the door at the top before he headed back. By the time he returned to the room where he'd left Ronon, the man had dragged the bodies of all four unconscious men into the room and lined them up together.

"This way if any of them wake up I can just shoot them in the head," Ronon explained gesturing to his handy work and John smiled. He wasn't sure why he had trusted Ronon to help him, all knew was that he needed help and had instinctually trusted Ronon to give it. It seemed his instincts were not wrong.

- - -

The police had taken over the crime scene and the four men had been arrested and taken away. Ronon had dropped by Teyla's room to quickly let her know what had happened and that he had to go. She had seemed concerned but hadn't said anything on the matter, simply smiled and said bye. He had then given his statement to the police and was now going over it again.

When they finally finished asking him questions about what had occurred he was told he could go home but to expect to be contacted again. He was about to leave when John Sheppard approached him.

"Thanks for your help today," he said as he came to a stop in front of him.

"No problem," he shrugged off the thanks. "How is Dr Weir doing?"

"Physically she's fine, has a new bruise on her arm to add to the list of injuries she got in the accident but other than that she wasn't hurt. Mentally and emotionally I'm not so sure, I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet, she's still in with the police," John explained and Ronon nodded his head.

"She seems like a strong person, I'm sure she'll be fine."

"How's the woman from the crash? I'm guessing that's who you were here to see," John asked and had to repress a smile at the look in Ronon's eyes. His face didn't betray anything but John could see the emotions flashing though the man's eyes.

"She's fine, should be out of here soon."

"That's good."

"Yeah it is, I saw the doctors lecturing you earlier what was that all about?"

"I was in trouble for getting out of bed, I don't know what all the fuss is about they were releasing me anyway."

"They still letting you go?"

"Just did thank God, I was going insane," John stated.

"Hospitals will do that to people," Ronon replied half serious.

"I'm gonna find out if Elizabeth's finished, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around," John said before he walked away.

- - -

Elizabeth just wanted to go back to her hotel room and curl up in a ball on her bed. She didn't want to sleep she knew what she'd see if she did, even now, awake, she couldn't get the images out of her head. All these people were dieing around her, security guards, her limo driver, innocent civilians and body guards. John had been seriously hurt in the crash and his temporary replacement had been killed in front of her.

Despite herself she couldn't help but think of easily it could have been John, part of her was glad it hadn't been him and the thought made guilt eat away at her. "They came out of the utility room as we were walking past, they pointed their guns at us before either of us could do anything."

"Did your body guard do anything to try and stop them?" the police woman asked.

"He hit one of them and he hit his head on the wall, his nose was bleeding and then they pointed their guns at him and he stopped. They kept their weapons low at their sides so that they wouldn't attract attention but they could have killed us both easily. There were silencers on their weapons so no one would have known anything. They made us walk into the utility room; I didn't move at first so one of them grabbed my arm and dragged me through the door and down the stairs. The others forced my body guard down the stairs behind me."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath to steady herself before she continued to recount the events to the two police officers in front of her. "They led us through a lot of pipes and then they stopped in the third room we entered, the man never let go of my arm, his grip was so tight I thought he was going to cut off the circulation," she explained unconsciously reaching up to rub her arm where the bruise was forming.

"We're almost done Dr Weir," the officer stated encouragingly though Elizabeth didn't feel encouraged by the woman's words. This was the second time she'd had to recount her statement.

"They started trying to taunt us, telling Carl he wasn't a good body guard and things like that. Then they shot him in the chest but the bullet didn't kill him, the two men at his sides held his body up whilst the one with the gun told me to say goodbye and shot him again. That shot killed him and they let go of his body and it hit the ground. The rest of it happened quickly I don't remember any details."

"Just do the best you can Dr."

"He sent the two men to get the car so they could transport our bodies and they left the room. The leader stared at me for a minute before asking me if I had any last words. That's when John and Ronon Dex came into the room, John shot the guy that was holding me at gun point in the shoulder and he and Mr Dex made the other guy drop his weapon and kick it away. Mr Dex then knocked him out and John escorted me to the stairs so I could call the police."

"Okay that's all we need for now, we'll be in contact."

Elizabeth inwardly sighed in relief, glad that she was done at least for now. She quickly stood up before they changed their minds and walked toward the door.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Steph7085 **– Thank you for the review, Glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Gabumon** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – Thank you for the review, John's instincts are fantastic aren't they. I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much; this one's full of shippyness so I hope you enjoy it.

**KariHermione **– Sorry about your computer breaking I hate it when that happens, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Wow you've been playing catch up, my email alert was going off very ten seconds lol. I'm glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 11

Elizabeth's head felt like it was going to explode as she finally walked out of the room with the two police officers. The headache was only adding to the terrible day she'd had so far. As she walked out of the room she saw John standing just down the corridor leaning against the wall obviously waiting for her.

He spotted her straight away and walked over to her his face showing his concern for her. "How'd it go?"

"It went," she told him and he nodded his head.

"How are you?"

"Fine," she lied, she was the farthest thing from fine but she wasn't about to tell anyone that, she knew he could probably see straight through it anyway.

"Well I've finally been released under orders to rest so how about we head to the hotel?" he asked her and she silently nodded her head. The two of them headed out of the hospital and to the car that she arrived in with Carl. She almost had to smile at the thought of using his first name. The entire time she had known him she'd been calling him Mouthy but now that he was dead she was using his name.

John sat in the drivers' seat and Elizabeth quickly sat in the passenger side. The drive to the hotel was made in silence as was the walk to her room. John followed her into the room and quickly scanned it for any sign of danger, more out of habit than anything else.

He watched as Elizabeth sat down on the bed and he took in the sight of the woman before him, so different to the one he normally saw. She looked exhausted, her normally perfect posture was slouching, her face was pale and her eyes held so many emotions it was hard to separate them.

John sat down on the bed next to her and she smiled sadly at him, today had really taken its toll on her. "It wasn't your fault," he stated simply knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"He died because he was protecting me," she said quietly guilt lacing her tone. "How can that not be at least partially my fault?"

"He died doing his job, he knew the risks, we all do."

Her eyes which had been locked onto his since he sat next to her looked down and he knew there was something else bothering her. "What is it?"

"When they shot him," she stated still refusing to look at him. "All I could think was that it could have been you and now I'm just glad that it wasn't."

John looked at her for a moment, to say that he her words surprised him was an understatement. He was completely shocked though part of him knew he shouldn't be.

"A man died today," Elizabeth continued. "And all I can think is that I'm glad it wasn't somebody else, does that make me a bad person?"

John had heard enough, he put his hand under her chin gently bringing her head up and forcing her to look at him. "You are not a bad person Lizabeth; you're one of the most beautiful people I've ever known, inside as well as out. Being glad that it wasn't me that died doesn't change that, I was glad it wasn't you."

Their eyes held a little longer, both of them feeling the pull of the attraction between them. If it had been anyone else John would have given into the urge he had to kiss her but he respected her and valued her friendship too much to risk it. He quickly looked away and stood up. "You should get some sleep; I'm in the next room if you need me."

Elizabeth nodded and he turned and walked out of the room and to his own next door. The room was almost exactly as he had left it the morning of the crash though room service had obviously been in there to do some cleaning at some point. He changed quickly and laid down in the bed, glad to be out of the hospital at last.

He thought back on the events of the day, he had come so close to failing her, to losing her and he was far more affected by that than he should be.

- - -

"So they were trying to kill her because she's working on some treaty and they grabbed her and her temporary body guard, dragged them into the utility rooms in the basement of the hospital, shot her temporary body guard and were going to kill her. Meanwhile her usual body guard who was in the hospital recovering from the injuries he sustained in the crash, realised someone was after her and asked for you to help him find her, you then knocked out the four men holding her and spent the rest of the day giving your statement to the cops," Marcus summarised.

"Yep," Ronon said after taking a quick moment to allow his brain to catch up with Marcus's very fast summary.

"Wow, you're having an eventful week."

Ronon rolled his eyes as he got in his car and drove to the hospital. He went straight to Teyla's room and she once again smiled at his arrival. He wasn't sure why he kept coming back; he kept telling himself that it was because he felt bad for her having no family and being stuck in here alone. The truth was that was only part of the reason, he felt some connection with her that he couldn't explain. He felt drawn to her in a way he had never been drawn to anyone else in his life.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked taking his usual seat.

"Much better," she stated simply.

"Hello Teyla," a young male nurse said as he walked into the room. He approached Teyla with what was probably her pain meds which she accepted with a grateful smile. "You're looking much better today."

"Thank you."

Ronon watched the scene in front of him and noted the flirtatious smiles the nurse kept directing at Teyla. He was surprised to find himself wanting to hit the man, was he jealous?

"I think you're well enough to take a walk," the informed her. "Do you feel up to it?"

"Yes," Teyla stated calmly though Ronon could tell she was trying to reign in her excitement at the prospect of leaving her room.

"Well as much as I would love to take you myself, I'm a little busy at the moment so perhaps you're friend could take you," he said directing a questioning look at Ronon.

"No problem," Ronon volunteered standing up and helping Teyla do the same.

"I'll show you where the gardens are, they're far more scenic than the ward," the nurse stated directing yet another flirting glance at Teyla.

Teyla linked her arm through Ronon's so that he could support some of her weight as she walked. He guided her out of the room and followed the nurse through the corridors of the hospital. He then stopped and gestured down a hallway. "The doors at the end, bring her back in about an hour or if she starts to feel unwell."

"Okay," Ronon agreed and led Teyla down the corridor and out the door at the end. They emerged in the gardens, surrounded by trees and flowers and singing birds. This was normally not the kind of thing Ronon would enjoy, in fact he would usually avoid things like this but as he and Teyla walked along the path he found himself enjoying the moment, for some reason he felt at peace.

Teyla for her part was enjoying the feel of the gentle breeze on her skin, the fresh air and the chance to be anywhere but her hospital room. She was glad that Ronon had agreed to bring her not least because there was only so much flirting she could take from that nurse each day. He seemed nice enough but he never seemed to pick up on her subtle hints that she wasn't interested.

Ronon was silent but she still enjoyed his company, she had only known him a week but she felt as though she had known him for years. She felt an attraction to him that made her both curious and afraid at the same time. She had not allowed herself to get close to anyone especially men since she left Kyle. He had hurt her in more ways than one and she was afraid to ever allow anyone that close to her again. Ronon however seemed to completely shatter her resolve, she was getting too close to him and she found herself wanting to get closer.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Whirlwind-2005** – I'm glad you love the story and please don't die lol, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it and thanks for the review.

**KariHermione** – Thanks for the review, you'll find a little more about Kyle later in the story, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 12

"Lad, I don't say this very often but shut up," Carson told his partner as they sat in their ambulance grabbing a quick lunch in the few moments of quiet they got during their shift. His partner had been badgering him about his rapidly growing relationship with Laura all day.

"Come on Carson, you have to give me something," Jake pleaded. "I tell you about all my relationships."

"I don't ask you to, you just can't keep your mouth shut," Carson argued.

"That's true," Jake agreed after a moment with a thoughtful look on his face and opened his mouth to argue again. Fortunately Carson was saved by the woman's voice that came through the radio to inform them of an emergency call to the apartment of an old woman. Both Carson and his partner recognised the address as one they had visited before.

Jake quickly started the engine and drove them in the direction of the apartment whilst Carson responded to the radio call. The sound of the siren echoed around them as the raced through the streets, Jake dodged and weaved through the cars expertly as he always did. He all but slammed on the brakes when they arrived at the apartment and Carson had the door open almost before he'd stopped. Once the forward momentum had gone Carson was on the ground grabbing his bag and running into the apartment. Jake was only a few seconds behind him as they met a middle aged man waiting just inside the apartment for them.

Remembering him as the woman's neighbour who had found her last time they followed him up to the apartment. He led them into where the old woman was sitting in a rocking chair looking extremely ill. Carson and Jake quickly got to work taking her blood pressure and various other vitals.

"Mrs Clarkson, can you hear me?" his partner asked.

The woman nodded her slightly and took a deep wheezy breath as she attempted to speak. Her mouth opened but no sound came out which only served to panic her more.

"It's okay Mr Clarkson, we're going to get you to the hospital," Carson informed her in the calmest, most reassuring voice he could possibly use as he looked at the vitals he and his partner had taken. She was quite possibly on the verge of a heart attack and he could list a number of other things that could be wrong with her and none of them would end well for her.

- - -

John knocked on the door to Elizabeth's room and waited patiently for the few moments it took her to open it. She smiled sadly at him and wordlessly took a step back so he could enter the room. He did so and moved immediately to sit on the bed taking in her casual appearance.

"I thought you had a meeting this morning," he questioned.

"I did, after what happened yesterday they postponed it until tomorrow, apparently they want to give some time to recover so I can be at my best," she informed him and he could tell she was relieved that she had a day to figure things out in her head.

"How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, lousy," she admitted and he knew she must be feeling really bad if she was willingly admitting to it.

"Did you sleep?"

"Not really."

"That's okay, me neither," he told her and she gave him another sad smile. "Let's get out of here."

Elizabeth looked at him for a moment before nodding her head and grabbing her jacket. She followed him put of the room and to the elevator; the small security contingent provided by the hotel followed them to the car park. She had yet to be assigned a new body guard and John figured they had left her safety up to him at least for that day whilst she wasn't working. They had probably thought she wouldn't leave the hotel and since he was in the next room he'd watch her.

They got in the car and he drove them to a small restaurant and led her inside. They ordered their meals in silence and John watched her as her face took on the thoughtful expression it wore all too often.

"It's not right," she stated after a moment.

"What isn't?" he asked already knowing the answer but letting her tell him herself. He knew she needed to talk about it, to get it out.

"All these people dieing to protect me, I'm just one person, it's not worth the lives of this many people. The Limo driver, Hotel Security, body guards."

"Every one of those people knew the risks when they took the job, we're not forced to do this, and we don't have to take jobs we don't want. We all know the score; we all know the entire backgrounds of all our jobs. When Carl took the job as your temporary body guard he knew everything he needed to know to make an informed decision. He knew how many people had died, how many attempts there had been on your life, how serious they were. So did the driver and hotel security and so do I. We all chose to take this job, to protect you knowing what we were getting into. We all decided that you were worth the risk, that protecting you was worth the risk that we'd be killed doing it," John told her.

"But what about the innocent bystanders, did you know that besides our driver there were three people killed in the crash. They had nothing to do with this, they didn't know me and they didn't choose to risk their lives. We put their lives at risk driving down that road, just like we've put the lives of everyone in this room in danger just by sitting here. If someone tries to kill me now, then people could just as easily get caught up in it."

"Elizabeth what you do is important," John started. "And I've spent enough time around you during these negotiations to know just how important this treaty is. It could change the world and that's not an exaggeration, a truce between us and the Middle Eastern countries we're currently at war with could be massive. That's important and one of the reasons so many people are willing to risk their lives. If anyone can make this happen it's you but in order to do that you need to be alive. Think about how many lives you could save in the long run if this works out."

Elizabeth sighed in defeat; he knew she could see his point but that the guilt she felt over the deaths of the people around her was not going to go away. Their food arrived and they ate their meal in silence, by the end of it Elizabeth seemed a little more relaxed. He had known that a chance to talk to someone about it and sometime away from it all was exactly what she had needed.

He paid for their meals and held his hand out to her which she accepted and he led her out of the restaurant. He was slightly surprised when she didn't let go of his hand but he wasn't complaining. They walked slowly back to the car and John checked the vehicle for any signs of a bomb or tampering. Bombs had been planted on her car twice before and the brakes had been tampered with once, thankfully he had caught all three before they had got in.

Finding no signs of danger he opened the door for her and she got in before he got in the drivers seat and started the engine.

"I thought you were under orders to rest," she questioned.

"I am."

"Rest means not working," she pointed out and he smiled as he turned to look at her.

"I'm not working, I'm simply going out for lunch with you and making sure no one tries to kill you," he explained eliciting the first genuine smile she had given since the incident at the hospital yesterday.

- - -

Teyla had been thinking about her predicament with Ronon all night and all day. She knew she had feelings for him beyond that of the man who had saved her life or the friend he had quickly become. The thought scared her - no that was an understatement - it terrified her. There were so many reasons it was a bad idea to get this close to Ronon and her instincts had spent the last twenty four hours screaming at her to get away.

Unfortunately she was still stuck in the hospital and there was only so far she could get away. She could gat all the way to the door before someone escorted her right back to where she started.

She looked up at the clock, if Ronon stuck to his usual routine he would be there any minute. Her heart was racing mostly out of fear and she hated herself for being so afraid of him. She had promised never to let herself be afraid of a man again but with Ronon all her promises to herself seemed to be broken without her even realising it.

There was a knock at the door and a moment later Ronon walked in and sat down in his chair. She forced a smile and a calm, friendly voice as she greeted him and prayed that he wouldn't see straight through it. He hadn't actually done anything wrong and treating him any other way wouldn't be fair. She tried her best to ignore her instincts which were screaming at her louder now than before.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione** – Thanks for the review, good to know the character development in the last chapter went well and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818 **– Thanks so much for your review, I'm glad the John and Elizabeth scene worked out alright. I want to hug Teyla too! Good to know I had you hugging yourself in the last chapter lol. I have to say I missed your reviews lol. Hope you like this chapter.

**Whirlwind-2005** – I'm glad you liked the last chapter and here's the update, I hope you enjoy it.

**Ancientmaverick **– Thanks for the review, Ronon really is just a teddy bear underneath isn't he lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Steph7085 –** Glad you like the story so much and I hope you like this chapter as well.

- - -

Chapter 13

Ronon arrived in his apartment after his visit to the hospital with Teyla that day. She'd been acting strange, different to the way she usually did as though the smile and the friendliness were forced. He was sure he hadn't done anything to upset her but she was still acting strange. He had spent the entire drive home trying to figure out why she suddenly seemed to be upset.

He walked into his messy bedroom and all but dropped himself onto his bed, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He decided then he would just ask her tomorrow and if she wanted him to stop going to see her he would. He sincerely hoped that wasn't what she wanted, the thought of not seeing her again made his heart sink.

It wouldn't be long now before she was out of the hospital though and he couldn't help but wonder what would happen then. Would he ever see her again, right now he wasn't sure she wanted to see him whilst she was in the hospital never mind once she was out.

- - -

John had taken over Elizabeth's security after he had been released from the hospital through some wordless agreement with the Agency he worked for. He was in no way back to a hundred percent and as such the hotel security team had been doubled and the number of meetings and negotiations Elizabeth had to be present for were kept to a minimum.

A number of the meetings were now taking place at a new, secret location to help protect Elizabeth. Only the people who had to know where it was knew about it, they had also been moved to another part of the hotel. Every precaution had been taken to ensure Elizabeth's safety especially given the fact that no body had been pulled from the car that had been chasing them and had ultimately caused the accident.

It was early in the morning when John knocked on the door to Elizabeth's new room, his new room still being right next door. She opened it wearing a smart black suit that clung to her figure in all the right places. She smiled and turned to walk back into her room leaving the door open so he could follow her. He did so being sure to close the door behind him.

He watched as she quickly finished doing her hair pinning the sides of it back with small clips. She then picked up her bag from the bed and turned to look at John giving him a small smile. She seemed to be in a much better mood today than she had been yesterday.

"Ready to go?" he asked and she nodded her head. He opened the door for her allowing her to walk out in front of him to where two members of hotel security were waiting for her. He fell in step beside her as they made their way down the corridor and into the elevator.

This mornings meeting was in the secret location which was further away from the hotel than the original place had been, they had a long drive ahead of them.

- - -

Ronon arrived at the hospital at the same time he always did, he entered Teyla's room receiving what he now had no problem discerning as a forced smile and friendly greeting. He sat in his chair and looked at her for a moment trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Do you want me to stop coming?" he asked bluntly. Teyla looked taken a back for a moment before she looked down avoiding his eyes. "I know that something's wrong and if I've done something to upset you then I'm sorry and if you want me to stop visiting I will."

Teyla couldn't believe what she was hearing, had she been that easy to read. She didn't want Ronon thinking that this was his fault, he had been nothing but nice to her since she'd met him and she knew she owed him an explanation, she just wasn't sure she was able to give it.

"It's not your fault," she told him. "There's just things about me, about my past that I can't explain."

"Do you want me to stop coming?" he repeated his earlier question and Teyla paused for a moment to think. Her instincts were once again screaming at her, telling her to make him go away but in truth she honestly didn't want to. She shook her head still staring at the white hospital sheet that covered her legs. She owed him an explanation, the thought kept running circles in her head and she knew she'd never forgive herself if she didn't tell him.

She was getting out of the hospital soon, probably tomorrow afternoon and if she didn't tell him now she would most likely never get the chance to again. She took a deep breath to steady herself and continued to stare down as she spoke.

"Five years ago I was dating someone, his name was Kyle and at first everything was great. Then when things started to get serious we moved in together and he changed, he was angry all the time, nothing I could do was right."

Ronon felt his hands curling into tight fists as he listened to Teyla; he had a feeling he knew exactly where this was going.

"At first he just shouted all the time and then one day he hit me, and then he did it again and again. I was afraid of him and he used it to his advantage, eventually I got away from him and I vowed never to let that happen to me again, to never let anyone get that close to me again."

Ronon didn't move for several moments when Teyla finished her story, and then he stood up and sat on her bed. She looked up at him unconsciously and they could both read the others thoughts through the expressions on their faces. Ronon knew that he had gotten closer to Teyla than she had intended to let him get and it had scared her and Teyla knew that Ronon would never hurt her.

It was an unspoken decision not to say anything further on the matter and Ronon moved back to his seat. Teyla watched him go feeling more at ease in his presence, she was still afraid but somehow the fear seemed easier to deal with now. There was no doubt in either of their minds now as to whether they would still see each other when she finally got out.

- - -

John escorted Elizabeth into the parking lot and toward their car, the meeting seemed to have gone well but then he really wasn't an expert on these matters. The two members of security were in front of them walking silently between the cars. John stopped abruptly as he saw a movement in the corner of his eyes.

His hand immediately grasped Elizabeth's arm bringing her to a stop next to him. The two security guys in front of them must have sensed his sudden stop and they turned to face him. John gestured between the cars and all four of them looked for any sign that someone was there.

He heard what he was sure were footsteps but if anyone else heard them they gave no indication. He drew his gun and pointed it ahead of him making sure Elizabeth was close at his side. His eyes continued to scan the area and he listened carefully. He was positive there was someone there. His suspicions were confirmed when several bullets came flying in their direction.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Sophie Fatale** – Good to know you like the John and Elizabeth story, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jammeke** – I'm glad you like the story and it was good enough to reed all at once. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Suzotchka1** – Sorry about the evil cliff hanger, here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy it.

**Fyd818** – I know that was kind of an evil cliff hanger and I'm sorry about the wait for this chapter. Glad you like the Ronon and Teyla stuff and John's sixth sense when it come to danger. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the review.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and sorry about the wait for this chapter, I hope it was worth it.

**Ancientmaverick** – Thanks for the review, sorry about the wait for this chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

**Steph7085** – I'm glad you liked Teyla's background story and I'm sorry it took so long to post this chapter; I hope it was worth the wait.

**KariHermione **– Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and John's ability to sense danger. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 14

John pushed Elizabeth to the ground using his own body to cover hers as the bullets whizzed past where they had both been standing only moments ago. The two security officers also dived to the floor but one of them wasn't quite fast enough and took a bullet to the shoulder. John's eyes scanned the room searching for the source of the weapons fire they were now taking. He spotted one of them in between two of the cars and shot him twice in the chest.

The uninjured security guard fired at another whilst John took out a third keeping his body over Elizabeth's. The cars that surrounded them offered them a small amount of protection but only if they stayed low. He knew there had to be at least two more of them and he once again scanned the room for them. His eyes fell on a man trying to sneak up on them between the cars and he fired at him, hitting him with several shots.

He heard several shots behind him and turned to see the injured security guard firing at another and hopefully finally man. When the firing ceased nobody moved, everyone listening and watching for any signs there was someone else in the area. When they didn't find any the uninjured guard stood up slowly, searching the room and then looked to John signalling the all clear before tending to his partner.

John turned his head to face Elizabeth whose body was still underneath him pressed tightly against his own. Their faces were so close they shared breaths and he had to once again fight the urge to kiss her there and then. Instead he used all of his will power to push his body up and away from hers. He helped her up off the floor and looked over to the where the two security guard were.

"Is he okay?" he asked.

"He'll be fine sir,"

"Good," he said turning to Elizabeth as the entire building's security team descended upon the parking lot and he had to marvel at how back up always arrived when the crisis was over. "Let's get you somewhere safer."

Elizabeth glanced over at the wounded man one more time before allowing John to lead her toward the elevator. He stopped for a brief moment to talk to someone but she didn't really take in any of what was being said and then they entered the elevator.

He stood close to her his hand never leaving the small of her back and she felt comforted by the small amount of contact. She felt comforted just by the fact that he was there but having a physical sign of his presence made her feel a lot better.

- - -

Ronon and Marcus arrived on scene and immediately followed the young woman to where her five years old son was trapped between two thick concrete walls. This wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that the narrow space was too tight for the young boy and they had to wonder how he had even got in there in the first place.

"He was playing with his friend when their baseball went between the garage wall and garden wall," the man who was obviously the boy's father explained as the sound of another siren approached.

"Okay we're gonna need you to step back and let us work," Marcus stated and the couple nodded their heads.

"What have we got lads?" Carson asked as he approached them

"Five year old boy trapped between these two walls, the space is too narrow," Ronon informed him quickly before he and Marcus joined the other couple of fire fighters that had arrived with them in trying to find a way to get him out. It soon became apparent that because of how far in to the gap the boy was and how tightly he was trapped that the only way they were going to get him out was by cutting him out.

The other two firemen went to get the necessary equipment whilst Ronon and Lorne started marking out exactly where the boy was and where they needed to drill through the wall.

"How's it going?" Carson asked.

"We're going to have to cut him out, drill through the wall around him and hopefully pull him through."

"Isn't that risky?" Carson questioned in concern.

"There are risks but it's the only way," Marcus explained "How is he?"

"You were right the space is far too narrow, god knows how he even got in there. He can turn his head from side to side if he's careful but the walls are pressing down on his chest making it difficult to breath. We need to get him out fast."

"We're working on it," Ronon stated as the two fire fighters arrived with the needed equipment and started setting it up.

- - -

John and Elizabeth arrived back in her hotel after several hours of talking with the police. He couldn't believe the new location for Elizabeth's meetings had been found so quickly. As he entered the room he scanned it quickly and immediately noticed something was wrong.

He stopped Elizabeth by gently grabbing her arm and pulling her to his side. She looked at him questioningly but didn't say anything as he tried to figure out exactly why his instincts were suddenly on fire. That's when he noticed it, the small briefcase barely concealed beneath the dressing table. That hadn't been there when they'd left the room that morning.

"Is that yours?" he asked just to be certain.

Elizabeth's eyes followed his to where the briefcase was and she shook her head in silent answer to his question. He turned around and quickly led her out of the room, motioning for the two hotel security guards to follow. He stopped at the end of the corridor and explained the situation to the two guards one of whom ran to call the cops.

Within a few minutes the manager of the hotel arrived and let them into another room so that they didn't have to wait around in the corridor. John kept Elizabeth close by his side as the manager informed him that the cops were on their way and that the rooms surrounding Elizabeth's were all currently empty apart from his.

The cops arrived soon after along with a bomb disposal squad and immediately got to work on the suitcase. When the detective walked into the room later Elizabeth was sat on the bed and John was stood close by.

"You were correct the briefcase was a bomb," the detective informed him.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Jammeke** – Thanks for the review, good to know you love the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – I'm glad you liked the last chapter and Elizabeth is a strong person so I couldn't really see her breaking down when she needed to be strong. The part with the kid almost wrote itself and you'll get to see what happens to him in this chapter. Thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter.

**KariHermione** – The part with the kid practically wrote itself and you'll get to see his fate in this chapter. Thanks for the review.

**Whirlwind-2005** – I imagine Elizabeth isn't having the greatest week of her life lol but she's strong so I think she'll be okay. I'm glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

**Angel-Huntress** – I'm glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Thank you for the review.

**Steph7085 **– I'm sorry I made you have a panic attack and as demanded here's the next chapter lol. Thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 15

"Come on Adam I need you stay with me okay," Carson said to the young boy who was quickly beginning to lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen getting into his lungs; the wall was preventing his chest from expanding enough to allow the boy to breathe anywhere near deeply enough.

The boy nodded his head in understanding but his face told Carson there was only so much longer he would be able to hold on. As he watched Adam's eyes begin to drift shut again he called out to him but it was no longer having the desired affect.

"Talk to him," he told the parents who hurried over and shouted to their son. The sound of his parents' voices calling him once more brought the boy back from the edge of unconsciousness.

"How much longer?" Jake questioned the firemen.

Ronon was hard at work drilling through the wall of the garage being careful to make sure he drilled exactly where they had marked out so that they didn't hurt the kid. Marcus was at his side helping him and the other two fire fighters were mostly trying to stay out of the way.

"We're almost there," Marcus shouted over the sound of the drill.

"Adam, Adam," they boys frantic mother called as her son once again began to lose consciousness.

"Adam, can you hear me?" Carson shouted but it was too late the boy was unconscious.

"Ronon, Marcus, we need him out of there now," Carson yelled but the two men continued at the same pace. He knew they had heard him but that they couldn't go any faster without risking hurting the kid.

"Alright that's it," Ronon stated as he dropped the drill and pulled away the remaining concrete that was blocking their way. Jake and Carson were at his side in a second and they helped him pull the boy through the hole that had been created. Carson picked him up and immediately put him on the stretcher.

He and his partner got to work immediately, putting an oxygen mask on him and checking him for injuries. Satisfied he wasn't in any immediate danger they moved him into the ambulance. Jake went round to the drivers' seat and started the engine as Carson and the kid's mother sat in the back.

- - -

Teyla could not have been happier in that moment if she'd tried, the news that she was now well enough to be released had been more than welcome. In her opinion she was well enough to have been released days ago but she wasn't about to complain. She was just waiting to sign her release papers and then she would be free to go.

She looked at the clock and noticed that Ronon was late, he was usually here half an hour earlier but she knew he'd come. As if hearing her thoughts Ronon walked through the door and smiled his greeting to her.

"Sorry I'm a little late today," he told her as he sat down.

"That's okay; I figured you'd probably been caught up at work."

"Well you were right, five year old kid got himself trapped in a very narrow space between two walls, we had to drill him out."

"Is he okay?" she questioned.

"He's fine, down the hall actually."

"Good, you should know I'm being released today," she stated barely keeping the gleeful smile from her face, apparently he noticed because he smiled humorously at her.

"That's great; it's about time, how about I take you for your first non hospital meal?" Ronon asked hopefully.

"Why Mr Dex, are you asking me out on a date?" Teyla asked her smile obvious now.

"Maybe," Ronon answered also smiling "What would your answer be?"

"That depends on where you're taking me."

Ronon was about to respond when the familiar voice of the male nurse interrupted them and Ronon groaned inwardly.

"So Teyla, I hear you're being released."

"That's right," she stated her expression changing from the flirtatious grin she had been using on Ronon to a friendly smile.

"Well you be sure to come back and visit."

"Of course," Teyla said with no intention of coming back.

"Anyway I just thought I'd come and say bye," the nurse said looking a little uncomfortable now and he nodded his head to Ronon in acknowledgement of his presence before making a hasty exit.

"I think he finally got the message," Teyla laughed when the door had closed behind the man.

"I think so."

- - -

John watched Elizabeth as she lay curled up on the bed asleep. They had spent last night in yet another new room but neither of them had slept. It wasn't until about midday that her exhaustion had finally won out and she had fallen asleep. He had taken the opportunity to sleep himself. Sitting in the chair near the door he had slept for a couple of hours.

There was a knock at the door and he placed one hand on the weapon he had holstered at his side as he walked over and opened it. The hotel manager and the head of security were stood waiting patiently for him and he motioned for them to come in. As they entered the room he glanced at Elizabeth to make sure the noise hadn't woken her up, she'd had a tiring day and if she woke up now she wouldn't sleep again.

He shot the manager and the head of security a look that told them to keep it quiet and they seemed to understand.

"We've searched the security forage for the hallway outside the room from the moment you left," he head of security whispered.

"What did you find?"

"About an hour before you got back a man broke into the room, he was wearing one of our uniforms but he's not an employee." The manager continued and handed John a printed image of the man on the video. "Do you recognise him?"

"Yeah," John said. It was the man he had come to loathe, the man who had caused the car accident.

Seeing he had no intention of elaborating further they continued. "Do you have any idea how he could have found out which room she was in, we've kept it out of the hotels records?"

"I don't know," John lied he had feeling he knew exactly how they had found out where she was.

"Well if you need anything else don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't."

John let the two men out of the room and sat back down his chair and looked at Elizabeth. There was only one explanation for how they had found out which room she was in, the same explanation for how they had found out where her new meeting place was. There were very few people who knew either but even fewer that knew both. It wasn't a possibility he wanted to consider but it was the only explanation. Someone was giving out information; someone on Elizabeth's staff was a traitor.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**Jemmeke** – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well.

**KariHermione** – Good to know you liked the Ronon and Teyla scene and of course Ronon's and Lorne's scene at the beginning. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jasminesmommy **– Glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one, thanks for the review.

**Fyd818** – Well I couldn't have them not get the kid out but I'm glad it kept you on the edge of your seat. I figured it was about time Ronon and Teyla stopped dancing around their feelings. Good to know you didn't see the traitor thing coming, I like to surprise you all once in a while lol. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Steph7085** – I needed some Sparky fluff to break up the tension of their current situation, it was getting far too serious lol, hence John watching her sleep. Glad you liked the last chapter, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 16

The realisation that someone on Elizabeth's staff was helping the people trying to kill her brought with it endless possibilities. Did they know Elizabeth had survived the bomb in her room? Did they know where she was now? Were they planning their next attempt on her life? Maybe they were already carrying it out.

John's mind was spinning as his thoughts raced through his mind one after the other. The one thought he couldn't seem to shake though was what if they were already carrying out their next attempt. They could be anywhere, anyone at anytime. He had to get her away from here, away from all the people who could be working against her. He just didn't know where, he couldn't trust anyone round him.

A thought struck him and he knew it was a long shot but it was the only one he had, he had to at least try. His mind made up he walked over to the bed kneeling down beside the sleeping form.

"Elizabeth," he said gently as he placed a hand on her arm. She woke up fairly quickly but made no move to actually get up. Instead she just opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment as she attempted to focus her tired mind.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"We need to leave," he answered just as quietly.

"Why, what's going on?" she questioned in confusion as she sat up.

"I'll explain on the way."

"But.." she began to protest but John cut her off.

"Trust me," he said and she nodded her head and stood up immediately. He gave her time to change into some fresh clothes and run a comb through her hair before leading her out of the door. He waved off the two security guards outside her room telling them they were just going to the hotel bar to get a drink and they should watch her room.

He pressed the button for the elevator glancing back at the two security guards to make sure they were staying put. The elevator doors opened and he allowed Elizabeth to enter in front of him. When they arrived in the lobby he quickly guided her out of the hotel and into the parking lot to where their car was parked. He checked it over for any signs of danger as he always did except this time he was more thorough about it if that were at all possible. Once he was sure the vehicle was safe he opened the passenger door for her and let her in before running around and sitting in the drivers seat. He started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

"So are you going to tell me what's happening?" she asked.

"I think someone on your staff is feeding information to the people trying to kill you," he explained.

"You can't be serious," she stated once she got over her shock.

"I'm deadly serious," he told her in a tone that left no room for doubt "It's the only explanation that makes any sense, they found both your new meeting place and your new room too fast."

Elizabeth went silent for a moment and he assumed she was thinking about what he'd told her. He focused on the road allowing her as much time as she needed to absorb the information, he knew she would come to the same conclusion. As he expected several moments later she nodded her head slowly.

"So where are we going?" she asked him.

- - -

Ronon helped Teyla pack the last of her things into the small bag, he had offered to drive her home since she no longer had a car. He was glad she had accepted since he really needed to talk to her, to figure out exactly where they went from here. At some point after the car accident he had fallen for her, he had a feeling it had been the day he'd first met her when he had been talking to her in the car desperately trying to keep her awake.

It had happened so fast he hadn't even seen it coming and he found himself wanting to spend all of his time with her. Whilst she had been in the hospital it had been easy to pretend that he was just there to give her some company but now that she was leaving it was time to face up to the truth, he had fallen for her.

Teyla smiled as Ronon closed the bag and picked it up, she was more energetic than he had ever seen her and it made him wonder why exactly she'd been kept in the hospital so long. She was very obviously fine.

"Shall we go?" he asked and she opened her mouth to respond when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called instead.

Ronon was surprised when the familiar forms of John Sheppard and Dr Weir walked through the door. He hadn't expected to see them again at least until he had to appear in caught for the trial of the four men they had handed over to the cops.

"Mr Sheppard, Dr Weir," Ronon greeted curiously and then looked to Teyla who looked more confused than he did. "This is Teyla, Teyla these are the people I told you about."

"Oh, of course," she said as realisation crossed her features "It's nice to meet you."

"And you," John replied, "I need your help," he said to Ronon with a familiar pleading look in his eyes.

"With what?" he asked curiously.

"Someone on Dr Weir's staff is feeding information to the people trying to kill her, I can't trust any of them and I need to get her somewhere safe."

Sensing the severity of the situation Teyla moved quietly over to the door and started to close it but stopped abruptly as she stared out into the hallway. She watched as several men conversed with one of the nurses, as she watched them one of them shifted their jacket moving ever so slightly but it was enough to reveal the gun holstered at his side for just a second.

"Mr Sheppard," Teyla said gaining the man's attention "These people who are after Dr Weir, do they look like that?"

John immediately walked over to the door, leaning over Teyla's smaller form to see what she was looking at. Sure enough there were several men just down the hall. "At least one of them is armed," Teyla told him and he closed the door.

"It think we're trapped," John stated bluntly. "There's no way I can get you past them,"

"There must be something we can do," Teyla said.

"I have an idea," John informed them after a moment and then turned to Teyla "But it's risky for you."

Teyla nodded her head in acceptance "I will do what I can to help."

"Okay, we're going to need a very covert way out of here." John finished.

Ronon paused for a moment in thought "I can handle that."

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review, things start happening pretty fast now so I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Suzotchka1** – I'm glad you love the story, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Everything is finally going to start coming together now, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the reviews.

**Alex** – Sorry the last chapter was a little short but I needed to end it before they exposed their plan. Thanks you so much for your review it's good to know you enjoy this story and I hope you like this chapter too.

**Fyd818** – I figured Teyla was the type to help anybody who needed it, things finally start to come together in this chapter. Sorry for leaving you on two cliff hangers in one night, I didn't even realise I'd done it at the time. Hopefully this chapter will help to make up for it. Thanks for the review.

- - -

Chapter 17

John walked out of the hospital room the woman at his side now had her hood up to mask her face. The five men spotted them obviously recognising John and followed them toward the exit. They left the hospital both of them acutely aware that the men were only a few steps behind them. Once they were in the cark park the men shouted at them both to stop and John heard the gun preparing to fire.

They stopped and turned around and the five men surrounded them, two of them aiming their weapons at them. John eyed each of them judging how much of a fight they would put up and which were the biggest threats.

"You're not getting away this time Dr Weir," one of them said.

John smirked attracting the man's attention and receiving an angry glare. "You find something funny Sheppard?"

"Yes actually," John stated glancing at the still hooded woman next to him. The man seemed to catch on to what was going on.

"Remove the hood."

The woman did as she was told, lowering the hood and to reveal the light brown hair and deep brown eyes of Teyla Emmagan. She smiled at them as the man's expression changed to one of furious outrage.

"Where is Dr Weir?" he shouted angrily and John shrugged.

- - -

Ronon watched the five men follow John and Teyla out of the room and toward the exit. He silently prayed that they would both be okay and gestured for Elizabeth to follow him. They both walked through the corridors of the hospital until they finally exited to see Carson waiting for them with a young blonde woman.

"Thanks for coming," Ronon said as Carson opened the back of the ambulance. Ronon helped Elizabeth step up into the vehicle and climbed in behind her. Carson closed the door and he and the young woman got in the front.

"Ronon this is Laura, she's a friend of mine," Carson stated when he saw him eyeing the woman curiously.

"Nice to meet you," Laura said with a small smile.

"You too."

"And this lovely young lady must be Dr Weir," Carson said directing the statement at Elizabeth who nodded and smiled.

"Thank you for helping us."

"It's no problem lass," Carson informed her. "The university is about twenty minutes away."

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Ronon asked.

"Absolutely, he might be a pain but we can trust him," Carson stated confidently and Ronon nodded his head and sat down next to Elizabeth.

"John will take care of her," Elizabeth stated her voice showing the worry that he felt.

"Teyla is more than capable of taking care of herself."

"Doesn't stop you worrying though," Elizabeth said knowingly and Ronon looked at her for a moment before replying.

"No it doesn't."

- - -

John and Teyla watched the men around them carefully in case any of them tried anything. Teyla was glad she had chosen to take up martial arts and that she was as skilled as she was, she was fairly certain that between herself and John they could hold their own.

"Go back inside," one of the men said. "Check the room and the rest of the hospital." Two of the men did as instructed and Teyla suppressed a smile, big mistake, he had just tipped the odds in their favour. "Tell me where she is and I may allow you to live."

"Well that's awfully nice of you but we're not going to tell you anything," John said sarcastically.

"Then I'll kill you."

The man raised his gun and John and Teyla took that as there cue, John immediately went for the man. Pushing his gun away and forcing it out of his hand. Teyla went for the second guy with a gun, knocking it from his hand before he even had chance to react. She took his feet out from under him in a graceful movement before turning her attention on the final man who was pulling his weapon from its holster.

She hit him before he was even aware that she had turned her attention on him causing him to stumble backwards. She swung at him again, her fist connecting with his face and sending him crashing to the ground, hitting his head on a nearby car and rendering him unconscious.

Two hands grabbed her from behind one of them wrapping around her waist and the other around her neck, pressing down on her throat and cutting off the flow of oxygen to her lungs. She tried to break free of the man's grasp but he was too strong and her lungs continued to struggle for air. She could feel her mind becoming foggy and the edges of her vision were beginning to blur when the man suddenly released his hold on her and she fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air.

She forced her eyes to look up in time to see John hit the man with such force it knocked him out. He knelt down beside her as she struggled to return her vision to normal and focus on her mind through the haze that had settled on it.

"You okay?" he asked and she nodded her head, he offered her his hand and she accepted it allowing him to help her up. "Car's over here."

John quickly checked the car over for any bombs or tampering and finding none they both got in and went to meet up with Elizabeth and Ronon.

- - -

The ambulance pulled into the car park of the university and came to a stop. Ronon quickly jumped out and helped Elizabeth do the same as Carson and Laura joined them. A man walked up to them and Ronon was instantly alert and moving in front of Elizabeth.

"Ronon, Dr Weir, this is Rodney McKay," Carson introduced.

"Thank you for allowing us to come here," Elizabeth said gratefully.

"Yeah well if I get shot and killed I'm coming back to haunt you all," Rodney complained before turning and heading into the building. "This way."

"Don't take it personally he complains about everything," Carson informed them and Elizabeth smiled slightly as she moved to follow them staying close to Ronon. Her thoughts went to John and Teyla, she had no idea what had happened to them after they left the hospital room. She prayed that they were both okay and on their way to meet up with them.

Ronon had been agitated from the moment they had come up with the plan, he had called his friend Carson and given him a brief summary of the situation. Carson had agreed to come and get them from the hospital telling Ronon he knew of a place they could meet up. He had been visibly worried since Teyla left the hospital room and she knew he wouldn't be happy until Teyla and John arrived at the university, the truth was, neither would she.

Rodney led them through the building and into a class room which was obviously a science lab where there was another man waiting for them.

"This is Radek Zelenka, my colleague," Rodney stated and Elizabeth started getting nervous, there were too many people getting involved, too many lives being put at risk. This was the reason she had been struggling with the situation, it wasn't the fear for her own life though admittedly she was terrified. It was the amount of other people who were giving up their lives to save hers, she was just one person and despite what John said, she couldn't help but think that she just wasn't worth it.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

**Steph7085** – Poor Teyla has been bed ridden for the entire fic so I figured it was about time she got to kick someone's ass lol. Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Jammeke** – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

**Fyd818** – Good to know you liked the decoy and John and Teyla's fight, I had been looking forward to writing that scene for ages. Glad you liked Rodney's part and Elizabeth's feelings on the amount of people getting involved. Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it, thanks for the review.

**Jasminesmommy** – Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Whirlwind-2005** – I figured Elizabeth wouldn't want so many lives being put at risk and lost just to save her so I wanted to reflect that in their current situation. Glad it worked alright and I hope you like this chapter, thanks for the review.

- - -

Chapter 18

The car pulled up outside the university and both Teyla and John got out in a hurry. Teyla watched as John opened the trunk of the car to reveal several weapons and she looked at him questioningly.

"I also carry spares," he stated as he handed her a handgun; "You know how to use that?" he asked her.

"Yes," Teyla stated.

"Good, hopefully you won't have to," John said as he threw several other guns and lot of ammo into a black backpack. The two of them then made their way in side and searched out the science labs.

"Why does this building have to be so confusing?" John questioned as he realised that they had already been down that corridor. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled Elizabeth's number.

"Hey, where are you?" Elizabeth asked obviously having seen his name on caller ID.

"In the University but we have no idea how to find you," John told her.

"They're here but they can't find the lab," he heard her voice say more quietly to someone who was in the room with her. "Okay, where are you?"

John looked around him seeing a sign that told him he was in the History Department. He informed Elizabeth and she relayed the information to whoever she was talking to before giving him directions. John and Teyla followed them for several minutes.

"Round the corner and then the first corridor on you left, Ronon's waiting outside the room for you," Elizabeth finished and John closed his cell and did as instructed. Sure enough Ronon was stood outside the room and John nodded in greeting before he went inside leaving Ronon and Teyla alone in the corridor.

"Are you okay?" Ronon asked her quietly.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"What is that?" he questioned and gently lifted her chin so he could get a better look at her neck. There was a red mark beginning to form where the man had pressed his arm into her throat.

"It's really nothing, I'm fine," Teyla said firmly and he seemed to accept that as he gestured for her to precede him into the room.

- - -

Elizabeth felt a huge wave of relief run through her when John walked through the door. Without thinking she immediately jumped up from the lab stool she had been sitting on and ran to him. She threw her arms around his neck pulling him into a tight embrace and burying her face in his chest. He returned it putting his own arms around her pulling her closer. One hand threaded threw her hair holding her to him tightly each receiving the reassurance that they needed.

He wasn't entirely sure when it had happened, though he suspected it may have been from the moment he'd met her but he had fallen for her. He had tried to ignore it, pretend it wasn't there but holding her in his arms now there was no way he could deny the feelings he had for her.

After a long moment they pulled apart, Elizabeth stood to his side and he kept one hand on the small of her back. She had noticed that it had become a habit for him recently, whenever they had a close call he would keep his hand on the small of her back. The continued contact providing them both with the comfort and reassurance they needed. The other four occupants of the room were pointedly looking elsewhere giving the two of them their moment of privacy.

It may have developed into an awkward moment if Ronon and Teyla hadn't walked into the room. Teyla sporting a new red mark on her neck and carrying a weapon at her side, no doubt one John had given her.

"How long do you think we can stay here for?" Elizabeth asked him.

"Not too long, there's no telling how fast they'll find us," John informed her.

"So what do you want to do?" Ronon asked.

"For now," John started. "Go some place safe, some place they'll never find us until we can figure out who the traitor is and stop the bad guys."

"And where would that be?" Rodney questioned.

"I don't know yet, all of you will have to come with us, they'll know you're helping us and there are a million reasons for them to come after you now." John admitted.

"I think the best thing we can do is check into a motel under a fake name and keep a low profile. All the security you guys have has the Dr. lit up like a Christmas tree, you might as well paint a bull's eye on her," Ronon stated and John had to admit he had a point.

"Alright that sounds like a plan, we just need a way to get there," John informed them.

"I'm quite happy to drive you," Carson told him.

"No, by now these guys will have pulled the security footage from the hospital and they'll know you helped us get out. They're probably looking for the ambulance now."

"I can get you a car, I'll call another friend of mine, don't worry I trust him with my life," Ronon stated as he took his cell out of his pocket and walked to the opposite side of the room.

"Who are these guys anyway?" Laura asked.

"They were hired by a company called Alpha Industries; they own several smaller companies all of which manufacture military resources, everything from weapons to cutlery. The current war in the Middle East is generating them massive amounts of work and a lot of profit. Elizabeth has been working on a treaty to call for an end to the fighting. If she succeeds Alpha Industries profit margin falls considerably." John explained.

- - -

"Lorne."

"Marcus its Ronon," Ronon said when his friend finally answered his phone.

"Hey, what's up?"

"A lot," Ronon told him. "Remember the guy I helped at the hospital a few days ago?"

"Yeah."

"Well he came back asking for help again, there are people still after Dr Weir so me, Teyla, Carson and a couple of others have helped them get away but we won't be safe for long we need you pick us up."

"Alright," Lorne answered sounding confused but Ronon knew he would come through.

"We're at the university, get here as fast as you can." Ronon ended the conversation and put his cell back into his pocket as he headed back over to join the others. "He's on his way."

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

**KariHermione** – There's a bit more on Lorne in this chapter so I hope you enjoy it and thanks for the review.

**Fyd818** – John keeping contact with her after a crisis is something I love in the show so I really wanted to add it into my fic and I had to have her hug him lol. Good to know the Ronon Teyla scene worked out, there relationship is so subtle yet so obvious at the same time and I wanted to reflect that in my story. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Steph7085** – Glad you liked the last chapter and thanks for the review, big Sparky scene in this chapter so I hope you like it.

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Yep, the gangs all here lol. I loved writing the hug scene so I'm glad you liked it and there's a big Sparky scene in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it and thanks for the review.

- - -

Chapter 19

John watched Elizabeth as she walked out of the room, knowing now was not a safe time to be alone he followed after her gesturing to Ronon so he'd know where they were. He walked out of the lab and followed her down the corridor finding her leaning against the wall around the corner.

"Don't worry I wasn't planning to go far," she told him as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Still you shouldn't be on your own, it's not safe," he informed her as she continued to look at the floor. "What's wrong?"

"There's too many people getting involved, they've all put their lives on the line and every one of them has made themselves a target just by helping us," she explained.

"They all know the risks," he stated.

"You say that so often but it doesn't make it right," she told him quietly and John could hear the fear in her voice, fear for the people that were trying to protect her.

"Elizabeth," he whispered taking a step closer to her and she finally looked up at him. Their faces were only inches apart and the pull of the attraction between them took over once again but it seemed neither of them had the will power to look away this time. John lowered his head, his lips gently brushing over hers before capturing them in a powerful kiss. Elizabeth responded almost immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. His left arm wrapped around her waist whilst his right tangled itself in her hair, cradling the back of her head and pulling her impossibly closer.

The kiss became more passionate and intense by the second as they let their feelings for each other consume them. It was the need for oxygen that finally pulled them apart and John leant his forehead on hers.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," John informed her once he had caught his breath.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to do that," she replied with a small smile.

"We need to get back before the others come looking for us," John stated making no move to actually do so. It was Elizabeth who finally moved her arms from around his neck and on to his chest pushing him back slightly.

"Come on," she said and he leaned in and kissed her quickly before taking her hand and walking back to the lab where the others were waiting for them.

"How much longer until your friend gets here?" John asked Ronon who was stood near the window.

"Should be here any…" Ronon began and then trailed off as he saw several black vans pull up outside. "What the hell?"

John was immediately at Ronon's side, the two of them looking out from behind the blinds that covered the window. "How did they find us?" John asked before a thought hit him. "Your friend?"

"I absolutely guarantee he didn't do this," Ronon stated firmly which seemed to be enough for John.

"Then how could they have…" John stopped mid sentence and looked at Elizabeth. "Hand me your cell."

Elizabeth did as requested and handed the small item over to John. He opened up the back of it revealing a small chip that was obviously a tracer.

"Damn it," John said as he tore the tracer from its position amongst the phone's circuits, threw it on the floor and stamped on it.

"What do we do now?" Laura asked.

"We need to know how many of them there are and where they are," John told the small group.

"The security office isn't far from here, the footage from all the CCTV goes there," Rodney stated.

"Show us the way," John said picking up his black backpack and following the others out of the room. The security office tuned out to be only a few minutes away. Rodney let them all in and then closed the door behind them. John and Ronon immediately started looking at the security footage.

"They're everywhere," Ronon stated and John nodded his head silently.

"We need to get out of the building," John informed them and then turned to Teyla. "Call the police."

"There's a fire exit at the other side of the building, it leads out on to the road."

"Alright that's where we'll head," John decided as something on one of the security screens caught his attention. "Who is that?"

Ronon sighed as he looked at the man who had just walked into the building. "That would be Marcus."

"He's gonna get himself killed," John said.

"I have to go and get him."

"Okay," John said after a moment, reaching into the bag he handed Ronon a gun and some ammo.

"I'm going with you," Teyla stated and Ronon looked at her to protest. "Don't bother," she told him before he even got a word out and accepted the spare ammo for the weapon John had already given her.

"Both of you be careful," he said before they left the room. He turned back to the others and handed weapons to Laura, Rodney and Zelenka, Carson refused to carry one and John didn't have the time to convince him.

He then turned to Elizabeth and held out a gun for her to carry, he knew she hated the things and she looked at him a moment before taking it and tucking it into her trousers.

"Okay, let's go," John instructed and everyone followed him out of the room.

- - -

Marcus Lorne walked through the university wondering where the hell Ronon and the others were.

"Ronon," he yelled but got no response though he hadn't really expected one. He had no idea what he had got himself into. "Ronon," he yelled again and he felt two strong hands grab him and pull him around the corner before slamming him into the wall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" a gruff voice whispered.

"Ronon?"

"I call you and tell you that people are trying to kill us and you walk in here shouting my name?" Ronon asked rhetorically is exasperation.

"Point taken," Lorne said as Ronon let go of him and he noticed the woman from the car standing beside his friend.

"You're Teyla right?" Marcus asked.

"And you must be Marcus Lorne, its nice to meet you and thanks for helping to get me out of the car," Teyla greeted quietly with a small smile.

"We need to go," Ronon stated and it was now Marcus noticed that Ronon and Teyla were armed. They both wordlessly turned and headed down the corridor and it took Marcus a moment to follow after them.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

**KariHermione **– Sorry, no car chase but I hope you enjoyed the last chapter nonetheless, thanks for the review.

**Fyd818** – It was about time John kissed Elizabeth and I'm glad the scene worked out. The story is sadly coming to it's end only two chapters left after this one. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Glad the Sparky kiss scene worked out, thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter.

**Steph7085** – Okay lol, good to know you enjoyed the Sparky kiss scene, thanks for the review.

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Belanna30** – Thanks for the review it was kind of hard bring all the characters together believably so I'm glad it worked out. Hope you like this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 20

Teyla and Ronon quietly made their way through the corridors of the university toward the fire exit the others were using. Marcus followed behind them silently as they all watched for any sign of the men trying to kill them. They heard several voices up ahead which made Ronon and Teyla stop so abruptly that Marcus almost walked into them. They listened carefully to the voices but they were neither fading nor getting louder suggesting the men weren't moving.

"Stay here," Ronon told Marcus as he and Teyla followed the sound. They found themselves approaching the stairwell. They heard a gunshot come form down the stairs and Ronon ran over to the railing pointing his gun down as he looked over the railing. Teyla was at his side a moment later looking down the stairs but neither of them could see the source of the gunshot.

"Would you watch it," a man's voice said in annoyance.

"Sorry," a much younger male voice apologised.

"How you got hired I'll never know."

Ronon looked at Teyla and they both breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped back from the stairs and exchanged a smile.

"If you two want to make goo goo eyes at each other can you do it when we don't have murdering psychos after us?" Marcus asked rhetorically as they exited the stairwell and he walked down the corridor toward them. Ronon turned to look at his friend with a glare that would have sent most people scurrying for cover, however Marcus had been on the receiving end of enough of those over the years he'd known Ronon to be relatively unaffected on the outside even if he was a little scared on the inside.

"We need to get to the exit," Teyla stated and both men nodded their agreement and turned to walk down the corridor. They once again heard several voices up ahead and Ronon gestured for them all to back up against the wall. He leaned his head around the corner to see four men heading in their direction. They were too close for the three of them to get away before they rounded the corner so Ronon once again gestured to Teyla and Marcus that they were going to have to fight them.

The four men rounded the corner and Ronon hit the one closet to him knocking the weapon from his hand. Two of the men went for him obviously recognising his larger build as more of a threat than the other two. Teyla and Marcus quickly got to work on the two remaining men as Ronon knocked out one man and focused on the second.

A small cry of pain caught his attention and he briefly turned to see that Teyla had been hit in the ribs where he knew one of her many injuries from the crash was still healing. Her attacker took full advantage of the situation and hit her there again. The pain was obviously more than her tired body could handle and her legs buckled underneath her.

Ronon hurriedly turned his attention to the man who was now lunging for him and grabbed his fist almost crushing it in his grip. He swung his own fist at the man hitting him in the side of the head with such force it knocked him out. He looked over to where Teyla was now knelt on the ground and the man kicked her making her fall to the floor. She however used what strength she had to kick his legs out from underneath him.

Ronon took over from there running over and grabbing the man by his shirt and pulling him up off the ground. He threw him into a wall where he hit his head but the impact failed to knock him out. Marcus ran over having successfully knocked out the man he was fighting with. He kicked the final man in the head rendering him unconscious and turned to look at Ronon who nodded his appreciation.

They both then moved to where Teyla was forcing her body to sit up and Ronon put a hand on her arm to help steady her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I'm just great," she told him as she started to stand up with his help. "Let's just find the others."

- - -

They were about half way toward the fire exit when Rodney took them through one of the class rooms. They were heading for the door at the other side of the room when it opened and five men entered the room. John wasted no time in drawing his weapon at the men who were equally surprised to have run into them but not as quick to react as he was.

Elizabeth took a step back and closer to John; Laura also drew her weapon a few moments after John. Elizabeth, Rodney and Zelenka drew theirs as well but John knew the odds were against them in this fight.

"McKay, Zelenka, get the others out of here," he instructed and it was a few moments before he heard two murmurs of agreement.

"This way," Zelenka said still aiming his weapon at the men and Carson slowly moved from his position beside Laura to follow them.

"I'm not leaving you," Elizabeth stated quietly her voice barely above a whisper but she was close enough to John for him to hear her.

"Lizabeth you have to go, I'll be right behind you," he told her quietly but she still didn't move. He slowly turned his head to look at her, his eyes pleading with her to go and she reluctantly nodded her head slightly and walked out of the room with the others.

He could still feel the presence of another person beside him and a quick glance to his side revealed Laura Cadman still standing there weapon raised as the others left. She glanced over at him quickly as well, her expression telling him she wasn't leaving. When the others were out of the room they lost three of the weapons they had holding the men in place who took full advantage of it. Reaching for their own weapons John and Laura were only able to get a few shots off each, impacting two of the men before they were forced to dive behind the nearest lab bench.

Several bullets hit the bench some becoming lodged in it whilst others bounced off in different directions impacting various other things in the room. Shattering glass, spilling liquid and smashing plastic models joined the sound of the gun fire which took several minutes before it let up enough for John and Laura to look over the bench and fire a few more shots. John was able to hit his target but Laura missed and they both ducked back down as another wave of gunfire passed over their heads.

"I have to say this is not what I expected to happen today," Laura almost shouted over the weapons fire.

"Really?" John asked humorously.

"Believe it or not I don't get shot at everyday of my life," Laura replied and John smiled.

"There's a first time for everything," He stated before he risked a look over the desk. He immediately spotted one of the two remaining men and a moment later his eyes fell on the last that was well covered by the table he was hiding behind. He ducked back down and leaned closer to Laura so she'd hear him without having to shout.

"There's one on your left, I'm going to have to move to get the last one," he told her knowing they had to finish up here quickly. The sounds of gunfire would have attracted more of them. Laura nodded her understanding and immediately started firing at the man on her left. John broke cover keeping low and quietly making his way around the class room. He came to a stop as soon as he had a clear enough shot at the final man who hadn't seen him until that point.

A look of horror filled the man's face as he realised his fate though he tried to raise his weapon at John anyway. John fired twice hitting the man in the chest with both shots and then the only sounds that could be heard were the ragged breathing of John and Laura.

Laura's face was slightly ashen and the thought hit John that she never would have killed anyone before. He walked over to her and looked her in the eye "You had to, it was them or us."

"I know," she said quietly. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah the others shouldn't have gotten too far ahead," John said as they walked out of the class room.

- - -

They had barely made it down the corridor before the sounds of gunfire echoed through the hallway. Elizabeth stopped and turned around fighting the urge to run back. Carson lightly grabbed her arm as Rodney and Radek led them through another class room.

"Come on lass," Carson said his worry evident in his voice.

Elizabeth followed him reluctantly and she gestured for him to go through first, the sounds of gunfire increased as they walked through the room. She watched as the three men walked through the door and she turned back. Quietly she went back through the class room and headed into the hallway.

She made her way back to where they had left John and Laura and the sounds of gunfire suddenly ceased. She was about to speed up when she heard a man's voice behind her.

"Hello again Dr Weir."

Elizabeth closed her eyes as she recognised the voice, her weapon was still clutched in her hand and she turned around pointing it at him. He was stood there weapon aimed at her chest and his finger ready to pull the trigger.

"Kolya," she greeted.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

**Authors Note: **Only one chapter left after this one guys, so i hope you all enjoy it.

**Steph 7085** – (ducks to avoid spork) Sorry, I know that was kind of mean but I just couldn't help myself. Here's the next chapter, I hope it makes up for the evil cliff hanger. Thanks for the review.

**Jasminesmommy** – Yep the gang has all arrived, I never realised how big it was until I had to find a way to involve them all lol. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**KariHermione** – Thanks for the review, I know that cliff hanger was kind of evil so I hope this chapter makes up for it.

**Beka** – Thank you so much for your review, I know I was a little wary when I first started reading AU's but now I'm completely and totally hooked. I'm glad all the relationships are working out okay and I had to bring in the Carson Laura relationship cos it was just so cute. Don't hit yourself, I was purposely cryptic about Kolya's identity. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Fyd818** – Glad the last chapter left you breathless and that you didn't see Kolya coming. I love Lorne's character on the show so I love writing him in my fics and I'm glad you liked his line in the last chapter. I'm sad this story is nearly over too but all good things…lol Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Ancientmaverick** – Good to know you like the story and thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 21

"Where's Dr Weir?" Zelenka asked as he turned around and noticed there was a member of their group missing. Rodney and Carson turned around and both of them sighed.

"She was right behind me," Carson stated wondering how he could have not noticed she was no longer following them.

"When did you last actually see her?" Rodney asked.

Carson looked thoughtful for a moment. "When we were coming through the class room."

"That was five minutes ago!" Rodney exclaimed.

"I'll go back for her," Carson stated and Rodney shook his head.

"No I'll go," Rodney said receiving a surprised look from Zelenka and Rodney rolled his eyes. "I know this university better, he'll get lost, you can get him out. I'll get the Dr."

"If you insist," Zelenka replied and he and Carson reluctantly left. Rodney took a deep breath and walked back the way he had just come holding his weapon tightly.

"I'm so going to get killed," he said as he made his way down the corridor.

- - -

Elizabeth stood with her weapon aimed at Kolya a determined look on her face despite the terror she felt inside.

"Now, now, Dr Weir," Kolya taunted. "I thought you didn't like guns."

"For you I'll make an exception," she told him and Kolya smiled as two armed men stepped up to either side of her one of them taking the gun from her hand.

"Well I have to say you have been my most difficult target, I've lost a lot of good men trying to kill you," Kolya told her.

"Well that's what you get for running an 'assassins for hire' business."

"Maybe, though that body guard of yours was a problem," Kolya stated and Elizabeth froze at his use of past tense. "Oh did you not know, John Sheppard is dead, my men finally got to him," Kolya said with a malicious smile. "Now it's you turn, goodbye Dr Weir."

Kolya drew his weapon aiming it at her and Elizabeth closed her eyes, she knew she'd lost. She let her thoughts go to John, she knew Kolya could very well be lying but she also knew that John and Laura had been outnumbered. She thought of the kiss they had shared less than an hour ago, the feel of his lips on hers and his arms wrapped tightly around her. She clung on to the memory as she heard the sound of gunfire but realised she felt no pain even as a second shot rang through her ears only a split second later.

She opened her eyes as the two men on either side of her fell to the floor and saw the stunned look on Kolya's face as he looked at something behind her. She turned to see what he was looking at and saw John and Laura standing with their weapons aimed at Kolya.

"I'd leave her alone if I were you," John stated his voice low and dangerous. A wave of relief ran through her as she saw him standing there alive and without a scratch on him.

"I have a job to complete," Kolya stated and raised his weapon to fire at Elizabeth. John beat him to it, the shot echoed through the corridor as the bullet impacted Kolya's chest and when his body hit the ground he was dead. Elizabeth looked back at John, his eyes locked with hers as he walked toward her reaching her in just a few strides.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly almost lifting her off the floor as he pulled her into a fierce embrace. She returned it just as fiercely, needing to be sure he was really there, that he was really okay.

John caught the movement in the corner of his eye too late and cursed himself for not paying more attention to his surroundings. The man raised his gun before John could even react and his body jerked as the sound of a gun firing went off but it was the man whose blood began seeping through his shirt his body fell to the floor revealing Rodney McKay stood behind him gun raised.

"Nice work Rodney," Laura stated once she had got over her surprise and knelt down next to the body to check for a pulse.

"Did I kill him?" Rodney asked his voice slightly high pitched and Laura nodded sympathetically as the sound of sirens could be heard in the background.

"And here come the cops, just in time," Laura said sarcastically.

John and Elizabeth smiled just before they heard footsteps coming there way. Except for the now unarmed Elizabeth everyone raised their weapons in time to see Ronon and Teyla round the corner with Marcus Lorne in tow.

"Whoa, it's us," Ronon said and they all lowered their weapons.

"You all okay?" John asked.

"Fine,"

"Looks like we won't be needing your car after all," John told Lorne who smiled sarcastically.

"Well thanks for getting me involved in this for no reason, it's been fun," Lorne responded and everyone smiled. John once again wrapped his arms around Elizabeth planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"You guys really are having an eventful week aren't you?" Lorne asked rhetorically receiving glares from everyone in the corridor. "Just saying."

The sirens were now loud enough that John suspected the police had finally arrived and he let out a sigh of relief. With Kolya and so many of the men dead and any remaining about to get imprisoned he was fairly sure the biggest threat to Elizabeth's life was over. She was by no means completely safe but he knew it would be far easier to protect her now.

- - -

Ronon looked over to where Marcus was currently teasing Carson about his relationship with Laura. He felt bad for the paramedic but at least it meant that he finally got a break from it. McKay and Zelenka were still talking to the police as were John and Elizabeth.

Teyla was standing next to him looking a little exhausted and he couldn't really blame her. She had been out of the hospital for less than six hours and had already gotten into two fights, almost been strangled and run around a university avoiding assassins.

"You okay," he asked her.

"Just tired, my head kinda hurts," she admitted.

"We should be able to get out of here soon," he told her and she smiled at him gratefully. "You know I was worried when you were late meeting up with us."

"I know," she stated knowing it was hard for him to admit to it. His eyes locked with hers and he leaned down kissing her lips lightly before pulling away. He looked at her trying to judge her reaction she simply smiled and leaned her head on his arm.

- - -

John and Elizabeth finally finished up with the police; they had seen McKay and Zelenka leave about twenty minutes ago. Carson, Laura and Lorne had been right behind them and Ronon and Teyla had left shortly after that. Another six or seven men had been arrested from the building.

"So," John said turning to Elizabeth. "Ready to get out of here?"

"Definitely," She replied with a smile as she turned to leave.

"Just a minute," he said as he grabbed her arms and pulled her back to him catching her lips in a passionate kiss much like the first one they had shared earlier. "Just making sure I didn't imagine that."

She smiled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders heading for the police car that would drive them to the hotel.

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Authors Note: Final Chapter guys, it's just a short one to tie up all the loose ends and bring an end to the story so I hope you all enjoy it.

**Jasminesmommy** – Thanks for the review, yep that was basically all of them. Last chapter so I hope you enjoy it.

**Fyd818** – Glad the scene with Kolya worked out so well and that it made you jump though I am glad you didn't fall out of your chair lol. Glad you liked Marcus in the last chapter and I loved writing the Spanky and Sparky moments at the end. I hope you enjoy this last chapter and thanks for all your reviews.

**KariHermione** – Thank you for your review, glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one.

**Steph7085 **– Good to know I'm forgiven for the evil cliff hanger, I hope you enjoy this final chapter and thanks for the reviews.

**Whirlwind-2005** – Thanks for your reviews and yes it has been an eventful week for the gang lol. I hope you enjoy the last chapter.

- - -

Chapter 22

It had been three months since the accident that had brought them all together. Elizabeth had successfully negotiated a cease fire though they had no doubt it would only hold out so long. There had only been two attempts on her life since the shoot out at the university and they had both been made by amateurs.

John was currently sitting outside a café with his arm draped over Elizabeth's shoulder. Beside Elizabeth was Ronon and Teyla who were now as obviously a couple as he and Elizabeth. Next to them was Rodney and Zelenka, then Carson and Laura and finally Marcus Lorne who completed the circle around the table.

The nine of them had become a closely knit group over the last three months and they were now celebrating Elizabeth's success with the treaty and hopefully the end of the attempts on her life. The traitor in her staff had been found shortly after Kolya's death, a man named Kavanaugh whose job it had been to schedule her meetings. He had apparently disagreed with the way Elizabeth worked and she, according to him, undervalued his skills, whatever they were. He had been arrested, jailed and replaced by a very nice young man who seemed to idolise Elizabeth rather than hate her.

All of their injuries that had been sustained in the crash had healed and life had settled down for all of them. Ronon and Lorne were back to fighting fires, Carson was back to saving peoples lives, Rodney and Radek were once again teaching, Laura was reporting story after story including one on what had happened at the University. Teyla was now training a young rich house wife whose wedding day was next month. Elizabeth was finally given some time off from her job at least until the next treaty came long and John was still protecting her.

Everyone laughed as Carson cracked a joke and John watched the smile that played itself across Elizabeth's face. He couldn't remember seeing her this happy in the entire time that he'd known her and he was glad that he was at least part of the reason for it. All of their lives had changed so much but he knew it was for the better, he felt more complete than he could ever remember feeling.

"Well Elizabeth, congratulations," Zelenka said and there was a chorus of agreement around the table.

"A toast," Marcus stated. "To Elizabeth's success."

"To Elizabeth's success," everyone repeated as they raised their glasses except for Elizabeth herself who raised her glance but didn't actually join in the chant instead she glared at Marcus who shrugged.

"And to new beginnings," John added and this time everyone joined in.

"To new beginnings."

Once the toast was complete Elizabeth turned her head toward John a smile on her face as he leant down and kissed her.

"Oh would you two get a room," Rodney complained and turned to see Ronon and Teyla also kissing and then Carson and Laura opposite them. "This is just ridiculous."

"You're just upset because you don't have anybody," Zelenka stated.

"Neither do you," Rodney informed him. "Or him," he added gesturing toward Marcus.

"I'm quite happy being single thank you I…" Marcus trailed off as he became distracted by the brunette walking past him "Hello," he said as he got up and wondered off after her and Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Does some one want to remind me how I ended up knowing all of you?"

The End

**Authors note: Well that's the end of my first AU, I don't know whether to celebrate or burst into tears, I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, you all kept me inspired to write. A special thanks to Steph for the beta.**


End file.
